Biomimetic Systems
Again, on a systematic scale, nature outstrips our efforts. There’s evidence that we should design distribution networks based on the looped veins that carry water and nutrients in most tree leaves...for increased resilience (if one section is severed, the water will still reach most of the leaf) and the ability to manage fluctuating loads. This kind of network full of loops can also be found in the blood vessels of the retina, the architecture of corals, and the structural veins of insect wings, because it works! - And it is so much more efficient than the likes of the pipe systems we build with 90 degree corners that create friction... Nature out performs us with certain communication systems too, despite how connected we think our world is. There can be 80 million locusts in a square kilometer, and yet they don’t collide with one another. Meanwhile, the US has 3.6million car collisions a year, we clearly have something to learn regarding sensing and feedback. On a grander scale, each of these individual organisms is inextricably linked to the ecosystem around them, frequently in a symbiotic relationship. The orchestration of nature is incredible, and contains so much we can learn from, especially regarding sustainability and a mutually beneficial relationship with the planet.
