Army and Avocado: Strange Bedfellows for Biomimicry
by Warren McLaren, Sydney 
on 07. 1.06
One day surgeons might have a better view of a patient’s internal organs if some biomimicry investigation bears fruit. Scientists are researching the compound eyes of dragonflies who have 360o vision. This is but one of visual collection of biomimicry that BusinessWeek has been showcasing through a small but intriguing slideshow, that they term ‘Mother Nature’s Design Workshop.’ Other notables include a RoboLobster that “searches for mines and performs other tasks by mimicking how an actual lobster combs the ocean floor for food” and a machine with flexible wings based on those of a bee. It is unfortunate that the funding for some of this research is military backed. May useful civilian applications also become apparent. In related news, burrito builder, Chipotle, who we’ve earlier mentioned for their Food with Integrity program, have announced they will donate $50,000 USD from guacamole sales to The Land Institute. The institute researches environment-friendly farming methods, and is the lead case study in Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature, the stage-setting book by Janine Benyus. via ::BusinessWeek.
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