SGER: Creating the Foundations of Function Based Biomimetic Concept Generation

自然界为工程设计提供了大量的类比和灵感。从简单的钩子和插销附件到铰接翼飞行器，大自然提供了许多想法的来源。虽然生物系统提供了大量优雅而巧妙的解决问题的方法，但仍存在一些挑战，阻止设计师将生物世界的全部洞察力用于设计（使用合成材料和能量）世界。一个根本的问题是，成为一个称职的工程设计师所需的努力和时间，对生物系统的充分了解，以有效地执行仿生设计，造成了重大障碍（当然，也可以匡威说）。在探索性研究的小额赠款中，我们描述了我们打算如何通过创建方法和知识来为解决知识需求问题打下基础，这些方法和知识将使原型成为可能仿生设计库设计知识将根据仿生系统解决的功能进行存储。第一个贡献是创建一个部分词库，将包含生物内涵的功能基础术语的话，从而使工程功能的仿生解决方案的搜索。二是直接解决工程功能的生物现象的发现。第三种是创造类似于（通过使用类似的策略）但不物理模仿生物现象的工程解决方案。如果成功的话，这项研究将通过扩展功能建模和仿生设计的基本方法，为工程设计做出根本性的贡献。主要贡献将包括代表生物系统作为特定工程功能的解决方案，从功能的角度直接发现生物系统和工程系统之间的相似性和差异，并创建工程系统，实现其生物对应物的策略或原则，而不复制物理生物实体。结果导致一个更全面的研究建议，这里提出的工作将产生直接和广泛的影响。如果成功，这项探索性工作将证明开发一种语言和词库的可行性，使工程和生物学社区能够更好地合作，创造和发现。此外，这项研究的结果将提供基础，以创建一个更大的基于功能的仿生设计库，通过网络访问，将对工程设计产生广泛的影响。

The natural world provides numerous cases for analogy and inspiration in engineering design. From simple cases such as hook and latch attachments to articulated-wing flying vehicles, nature provides many sources for ideas. Though biological systems provide a wealth of elegant and ingenious approaches to problem solving, there are challenges that prevent designers from leveraging the full insight of the biological world on the designed (with synthetic materials and energies) world. A fundamental problem is that the effort and time required to become a competent engineering designer creates significant obstacles to becoming sufficiently knowledgeable about biological systems to effectively execute biomimetic design (and of course, the converse could be said).In this Small Grant for Exploratory Research, we describe how we intend to lay the groundwork to solve the knowledge requirement problem through the creation of methods and knowledge that will enable a prototype biomimetic design repository. The design knowledge will be stored based on the function the biomimetic system solves. The first contribution is the creation of a partial thesaurus that will contain biologically connotative words for Functional Basis terms, thus enabling the search for biomimetic solutions to engineering functions. The second is the discovery of biological phenomena that directly solve engineering functions. The third is the creation of engineering solutions that are analogous to (by using similar strategies), but do not physically mimic biological phenomena. Intellectual Merit If successful, this proposed research would make fundamental contributions to engineering design through the extension of the basic methods of functional modeling and biomimetic design. Key contributions will include representing biological systems as solutions to specific engineering functions, direct knowledge discovery of the similarities and differences between biological and engineered systems as viewed from a functional perspective and the creation of engineered systems that implement strategies or principles of their biological counterparts without reproducing physical biological entities.Broader Impact Though the primary goal of this proposal is to produce results leading to a more comprehensive research proposal, the work proposed here will have immediate and broad impact. If successful, this exploratory work will the demonstrate u the feasibility of developing a language and thesaurus that enable the engineering and biology communities to better collaborate, create and discover. Additionally, the results of this research will provide the groundwork to create a larger function-based biomimetic design repository that, through web access, will have a broad impact on engineering design.