Biomimicry Taxonomy
So, what exactly is Biomimicry Taxonomy? Lets start off by saying this: taxonomy in this sense is NOT the stuffing of dead animals. In this case, taxonomy is a way something is organized. Biomimicry Taxonomy is the way that we organize organisms by function, or how they respond to problems that they face. When organisms are organized in this way, we are able to locate a creature that faces a similar problem to one that we face and look at how they solve it. Biomimicry Taxonomy takes a creature and breaks down the things that it does and puts them into groups.
For example, if you wanted to manufacture something in a sustainable way, you could find an organism that naturally has or creates similar things and look at how they do it. There’s only so much that can be explained without actually showing a part of Biomimicry Taxonomy, so go ahead and read on.
Organism
What is the organism?
Namibian beetle, which lives in the desert
Challenge
What challenge must the beetle address?
Capturing water in a very arid climate
Strategy
How does the beetle address this challenge?
The beetle’s wing covers gather water from the air using nanoscale bumps.
Function
Why does the beetle need to perform this strategy?
To capture liquid.
This is represented by the Biomimicry Taxonomy as
Group: Get, store, or distribute resources
Sub-Group: Capture, absorb, or filter
Function: Liquids
What is the organism?
Namibian beetle, which lives in the desert
Challenge
What challenge must the beetle address?
Capturing water in a very arid climate
Strategy
How does the beetle address this challenge?
The beetle’s wing covers gather water from the air using nanoscale bumps.
Function
Why does the beetle need to perform this strategy?
To capture liquid.
This is represented by the Biomimicry Taxonomy as
Group: Get, store, or distribute resources
Sub-Group: Capture, absorb, or filter
Function: Liquids
Now, using a taxonomy such as the one shown above, there are multiple ways for you to approach a problem. One of these approaches is to address the challenge directly. When using this approach, you’ll want to think why you’re designing what it is you’re designing. After you’ve decided what that reason is, you would use verbs that describe functions directly related to your problem to pose questions. Then you would find the answer to these questions using a taxonomy such as the one shown.
Another approach is to use the same method as stated above, but to also pose questions related to challenges that go a bit beyond the problem you’re trying to solve. One other approach at using a taxonomy like the one shown above is to pose questions that are the complete opposite of the question you are trying to solve. For example, in the graph above it shows how the Namibian beetle stores and collects water. To use this last approach you would ask how nature keeps water out, or guards, from water.
(Picture and graph info from http://www.asknature.org/article/view/biomimicry_taxonomy)
Another approach is to use the same method as stated above, but to also pose questions related to challenges that go a bit beyond the problem you’re trying to solve. One other approach at using a taxonomy like the one shown above is to pose questions that are the complete opposite of the question you are trying to solve. For example, in the graph above it shows how the Namibian beetle stores and collects water. To use this last approach you would ask how nature keeps water out, or guards, from water.
(Picture and graph info from http://www.asknature.org/article/view/biomimicry_taxonomy)