Biomimetic Algorithms for Coordinated Motion: Theory and Implementation

Drawing inspiration from flight behavior in biological settings (e.g. territorial battles in dragonflies, and flocking in starlings), this paper demonstrates two strategies for coverage and flocking. Using earlier theoretical studies on mutual motion camouflage, an appropriate steering control law for area coverage has been implemented in a laboratory test-bed equipped with wheeled mobile robots and a Vicon high speed motion capture system. The same test-bed is also used to demonstrate another strategy (based on local information), termed topological velocity alignment, which serves to make agents move in the same direction. The present work illustrates the applicability of biological inspiration in the design of multi-agent robotic collectives

Automated Retrieval of Non-Engineering Domain Solutions to Engineering Problems

Organised by: Cranfield UniversityBiological inspiration for engineering design has occurred through a variety of techniques such as creation and use of databases, keyword searches of biological information in natural-language format, prior knowledge of biology, and chance observations of nature. This research focuses on utilizing the reconciled Functional Basis function and flow terms to identify suitable biological inspiration for function based design. The organized search provides two levels of results: (1) associated with verb function only and (2) narrowed results associated with verb-noun (function-flow). A set of heuristics has been complied to promote efficient searching using this technique. An example for creating smart flooring is also presented and discussed.Mori Seiki – The Machine Tool Compan

Biological Fluid Mechanics Under the Microscope: A Tribute to John Blake

John Blake (1947--2016) was a leader in fluid mechanics, his two principal areas of expertise being biological fluid mechanics on microscopic scales and bubble dynamics. He produced leading research and mentored others in both Australia, his home country, and the UK, his adopted home. This article reviews John Blake's contributions in biological fluid mechanics, as well as giving the author's personal viewpoint as one of the many graduate students and researchers who benefitted from his supervision, guidance and inspiration. The key topics from biological mechanics discussed are: `squirmer' models of protozoa, the method of images in Stokes flow and the `blakelet' solution, discrete cilia modelling via slender body theory, physiological flows in respiration and reproduction, blinking stokeslets in microorganism feeding, human sperm motility, and embryonic nodal cilia.Comment: 23 pages, 11 figures. Submitted versio

99% (Biological) Inspiration …

Greater understanding of biology in modern times has enabled significant breakthroughs in improving healthcare, quality of life, and eliminating many diseases and congenital illnesses. Simultaneously there is a move towards emulating nature and copying many of the wonders uncovered in biology, resulting in “biologically inspired” systems. Significant results have been reported in a wide range of areas, with systems inspired by nature enabling exploration, communication, and advances that were never dreamed possible just a few years ago. We warn, that as in many other fields of endeavor, we should be inspired by nature and biology, not engage in mimicry. We describe some results of biological inspiration that augur promise in terms of improving the safety and security of systems, and in developing self-managing systems, that we hope will ultimately lead to self-governing systems.1st IFIP International Conference on Biologically Inspired Cooperative Computing - Biological Inspiration: Just a dream?Red de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

A Review on Biological Inspired Computation in Cryptology

Cryptology is a field that concerned with cryptography and cryptanalysis. Cryptography, which is a key technology in providing a secure transmission of information, is a study of designing strong cryptographic algorithms, while cryptanalysis is a study of breaking the cipher. Recently biological approaches provide inspiration in solving problems from various fields. This paper reviews major works in the application of biological inspired computational (BIC) paradigm in cryptology. The paper focuses on three BIC approaches, namely, genetic algorithm (GA), artificial neural network (ANN) and artificial immune system (AIS). The findings show that the research on applications of biological approaches in cryptology is minimal as compared to other fields. To date only ANN and GA have been used in cryptanalysis and design of cryptographic primitives and protocols. Based on similarities that AIS has with ANN and GA, this paper provides insights for potential application of AIS in cryptology for further research

Interactive analogical retrieval: practice, theory and technology

Analogy is ubiquitous in human cognition. One of the important questions related to understanding the situated nature of analogy-making is how people retrieve source analogues via their interactions with external environments. This dissertation studies interactive analogical retrieval in the context of biologically inspired design (BID). BID involves creative use of analogies to biological systems to develop solutions for complex design problems (e.g., designing a device for acquiring water in desert environments based on the analogous fog-harvesting abilities of the Namibian Beetle). Finding the right biological analogues is one of the critical first steps in BID. Designers routinely search online in order to find their biological sources of inspiration. But this task of online bio-inspiration seeking represents an instance of interactive analogical retrieval that is extremely time consuming and challenging to accomplish. This dissertation focuses on understanding and supporting the task of online bio-inspiration seeking. Through a series of field studies, this dissertation uncovered the salient characteristics and challenges of online bio-inspiration seeking. An information-processing model of interactive analogical retrieval was developed in order to explain those challenges and to identify the underlying causes. A set of measures were put forth to ameliorate those challenges by targeting the identified causes. These measures were then implemented in an online information-seeking technology designed to specifically support the task of online bio-inspiration seeking. Finally, the validity of the proposed measures was investigated through a series of experimental studies and a deployment study. The trends are encouraging and suggest that the proposed measures has the potential to change the dynamics of online bio-inspiration seeking in favor of ameliorating the identified challenges of online bio-inspiration seeking.PhDCommittee Chair: Goel, Ashok; Committee Member: Kolodner, Janet; Committee Member: Maher, Mary Lou; Committee Member: Nersessian, Nancy; Committee Member: Yen, Jeannett