Bionic Principle Research Articles

Left-handed metamaterials based on a leaf-shaped configuration

Based upon the bionics principle, we present the design of a metal-dielectric-metal sandwiched leaf-shaped metamaterial, and the numerical simulation and experiment have confirmed an obvious left-handed transmission peak by this structure. The retrieved effective permittivity, permeability, and refractive index are all negative around the frequency of the resonant peak, and the planar lens focusing experiment has further confirmed its left-handed features. The results in this paper can be used to explain the resonance mechanism of the left-handed metamaterials fabricated by means of the nano-self-assembly approach, and thus may greatly promote the development of optical metamaterials.

Nanomembrane-based plasmonics

This paper reviews the main properties and applications of nanomembrane-based plasmonic structures, including some results presented here for the first time. Artificial nanomembranes are a novel building block in micro- and nanosystems technologies. They represent quasi-two-dimensional (2D) freestanding structures thinner than 100 nm and with giant aspect ratios that often exceed 1,000,000. They may be fabricated as various quasi-2D metal-dielectric nanocomposites with tailorable properties; they are fully symmetric in an electromagnetic sense and support long-range surface plasmon polaritons. This makes nanomembranes a convenient platform for different plasmonic structures such as subwavelength plasmonic crystals and metamaterials and applications such as plasmon waveguides and ultrasensitive bio/chemical sensors. Among other advantages of nanomembrane plasmonics is the feasibility to fabricate flexible, transferable plasmonic guides applicable to different substrates and dynamically tunable through stretching. There are various approaches to multifunctionalization of nanomembranes for plasmonics, including the use of transparent conductive oxide nanoparticles, but also the incorporation of switchable ion channels. Since the natural counterpart of the artificial nanomembranes are cell membranes, the multifunctionalization of synthetic nanomembranes ensures the introduction of bionic principles into plasmonics, at the same time extending the toolbox of the available nanostructures, materials and functions.

Bionics in patents – semantic-based analysis for the exploitation of bionic principles in patents

In this paper we present a sophisticated method to exploit bionic inventions in patents with the help of semantic patent analysis. This method enables users to visualize similarities in patent content in a semantic patent map. These maps could be used for strategic decision-making, e.g. for developing technologies and commercial usage and – no less important – for providing new insights to researchers and practitioners involved in bionics. A case study of US-based patents between 1976 and 2006 clearly shows that most bionic inventions are patented as medical applications in the area of surgery. Other fields of technological applications, however, apparently do not make use of bionic ideas for solving inventive problems. As a result, bionics may provide great potential for solving technical problems that needs to be exploited, e.g. perhaps to be carried out with the help of TRIZ.

Towards Automation 2.0: A Neurocognitive Model for Environment Recognition, Decision-Making, and Action Execution

The ongoing penetration of building automation by information technology is by far not saturated. Today's systems need not only be reliable and fault tolerant, they also have to regard energy efficiency and flexibility in the overall consumption. Meeting the quality and comfort goals in building automation while at the same time optimizing towards energy, carbon footprint and cost-efficiency requires systems that are able to handle large amounts of information and negotiate system behaviour that resolves conflicting demands--a decision-making process. In the last years, research has started to focus on bionic principles for designing new concepts in this area. The information processing principles of the human mind have turned out to be of particular interest as the mind is capable of processing huge amounts of sensory data and taking adequate decisions for (re-)actions based on these analysed data. In this paper, we discuss how a bionic approach can solve the upcoming problems of energy optimal systems. A recently developed model for environment recognition and decision-making processes, which is based on research findings from different disciplines of brain research is introduced. This model is the foundation for applications in intelligent building automation that have to deal with information from home and office environments. All of these applications have in common that they consist of a combination of communicating nodes and have many, partly contradicting goals.

Bionic Design of the Surface Morphology of Rubber Bush Covered on Driving Drums

Driving drum uses friction force to transfer power in belt conveyor. By means of bionic technology, the surface morphology of driving drum's flexible cladding was researched to increase the frictional traction force in this paper. Taking tree frog and katydid as biological prototypes, the structural features and adhesion mechanisms of their epidermal pad attachment organs were studied. Imitating the shape and structure of the epidermal pads, based on the principle of function bionics, four new surface morphologies of drum’s bush were designed. The behavior of the bionic bush contacting to the belt was simulated with finite element analysis software. The results of contact analysis show that the bionic drum’s bushes can generate embedding and interlocking effect during the contact process. The contact form can be changed from plane or cambered surface contact to meshing contact to enhance the frictional traction of drums. Keywords: Epidermal pad; Surface morphology; Bionic design; Finite element analysis; Friction

Influence of processing medium on frictional wear properties of ball bearing steel prepared by laser surface melting coupled with bionic principles

Coupling with bionic principles, an attempt to improve the wear resistance of ball bearing steel (GCr15) with biomimetic units on the surface was made using a pulsed Nd: YAG laser. Air and water film was employed as processing medium, respectively. The microstructures of biomimeitc units were examined by scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction was used to describe the microstructure and identify the phases as functions of different mediums as well as water film with different thicknesses. The results indicated that the microstructure zones in the biomimetic specimens processed with water film were more refined and had better wear resistance increased by 55.8% in comparison with that processed in air; a significant improvement in microhardness was achieved by laser surface melting. The application of water film provided considerable microstructural changes and much more regular grain shape in biomimetic units, which played a key role in improving the wear resistance of ball bearing steel.

Structure Design and Multi-Domain Modeling for a Picking Banana Manipulator

Based on agronomic and harvest characteristic analysis for bananas, according to bionic principle, a mechanism of picking banana manipulator simulating action of a person manually picking bananas was proposed, which was consisted of rotary mechanism, lifting mechanism, and shift mechanism, the body mechanical model of the picking banana manipulator was established. The multi-domain uniform model of a picking banana manipulator was developed employing the virtual simulation and modeling language Modelica. A body structure model for picking banana manipulator was established based on component models in DriveLib model library. Motion control’s mathematic models for picking banana manipulator were analyzed according to drive motor performance for the body structure, the simulation model of a mechanical motion control for the picking banana manipulator were realized in Dymola simulation platform. The validity models could provide a theoretical basis for picking banana manipulator primary design.

Design of Embryo-electronic Systems Capable of Self-diagnosing and Self-healing and Configuration Control

As aerospace vehicles travel in a hellish environment, the reliability of the measuring and controlling systems has played a critical role in the credibility of a whole airborne system. Embryo-electronic system is a bionic hardware capable of self-diag- nosing and self-healing. This article presents a new approach to design embryo-electronic systems and introduces their bionic principles, system structures and fault-tolerant mechanism. As the current methods cannot meet the requirements for large-scale embryo-electronic systems, this article advances a new shift-register-based configuration memory of embryonic system to solve the problem by using the inter-cell communication to reduce the gene storage capacity of a single cell. The article designs an overall structure of the shift-register-based configuration memories of the embryonic system and connects them into a chain structure. The article also designs an inner circuit of the cell, the control of shift-register-based configuration memory and the way of runtime dynamic configuration. The simulation of field programmable gate array (FPGA) evidences the realizability of the proposed design. Compared to the SRAM-based one, this memory can save 90% of the area when constructing embryonic systems larger than 128 × 128 under the same condition.

Application of Bionics in Antenna Radar Cross Section Reduction

Bionics principle is applied to antenna radar cross section (RCS) reduction in this letter for the first time. To authenticate the method, a novel bionic ultrawideband (UWB) antenna is proposed by use of a model of insect tentacle. Its UWB-related radiation characteristics are simulated and experimentally verified. Monostatic RCS of an insect tentacle antenna (ITA) terminated with three different loads are studied and compared with that of a common printed circular-disc monopole antenna (PCDMA). The results show that compared to the reference antenna, the novel bionic antenna has lower RCS and favorable radiation performances. Hence, applying bionics principle to antenna RCS reduction is feasible, which will serve as a good candidate for the future design of antennas with a requirement of RCS control.

Study on precision piezoelectric rotary step motors with inner anchor/loosen and outer drive

A new precision rotary piezoelectric (PZT) actuator is proposed to improve its drive performance. Based on piezoelectric technology, the actuator adopts the principle of bionics, with a new method of stator inner anchor/loosen/rotor outer drive and a distortion structure of a thin shelf flexible hinge. This structure improves the stability of the anchor/loosen and step rotary. Its characteristics are evaluated by finite element analysis. The experiment shows that the new rotary PZT actuator works with higher frequency (40 Hz), higher speed (325 μrad/s), wider movement (360°), high resolution (1 μrad/step) and high torque (30 N·cm). The novel actuator can be applied in wide movement and high resolution driving devices such as those for optics engineering, precision positioning and some other micro-manipulation fields.

Bionics in Engineering Education Considerations, Experiences and Conclusions

During recent years bionics, a new discipline which is in charge with the transfer of the principles of construction, regulation, interaction and organisation of biology into innovative technical solutions, has attracted significant interest from various industries. Based on this request for bionic expertise in engineering, the faculty for teaching engineering in foreign languages (FILS) at ‘Politehnica’ University of Bucharest started a course in bionics in SS 2007, which was supported by the expertise of the German ‘Bionik-Kompetenz-Netz’, one of the leading organizations in bionics. This is the report on the considerations involved in the course concept, the first experiences with the students' acceptance, some conclusions and future perspectives for extending bionics activities at ‘Politehnica’. Finally, within the last section, the evaluation of a questionnaire, filled in by the students at the end of the course, will be presented. In order to avoid any confusion, considering overlapping or mixing up with other bio-disciplines related to technology, the paper starts with a short introduction, explaining the principles of bionics and providing a clear definition of the field.

Novel precision piezoelectric step rotary actuator

A novel piezoelectric (PZT) precision step rotary actuator was developed on the basis of PZT technology. It adopts the principle of bionics and works with an inside anchoring/loosening of the stator and a distortion structure of the uniformly distributed thin flexible hinge to solve problems such as ineffective anchoring/loosening, low step rotary frequency, small travel, poor resolution, low speed and unsteady output. The developed actuator is characterized by high frequency (30 Hz), high speed (380 μrad/s), large travel (>270°), high resolution (1 μrad/step), and work stability. It greatly improves the ability to drive the existing PZT step rotary actuator. The new actuator can be applied in the field of micromanipulation and precision engineering, including precision driving and positioning and optics engineering.

Effects of surface shape on thermal fatigue resistance of biomimetic non-smooth cast iron

According to the principle of bionics, the experimental samples with a biomimetic non-smooth surface were manufactured using a laser. Three kinds of shapes including ‘spot’, ‘striation’ and ‘lattice’, were chosen for forming the non-smooth surface. With the self-controlled thermal fatigue test method, the thermal fatigue behavior of smooth and non-smooth samples was investigated and compared. The results indicated that the biomimetic non-smooth surface had a beneficial effect on improving the thermal fatigue behavior of gray cast iron, and that the non-smooth sample with the lattice shape had the highest resistance to thermal fatigue. Compared to the base material, the non-smooth unit zone was characterized by the alteration of microstructure. The lack of the graphite phase, the enhancing of mechanical properties in the unit zone and the effects of thermal crack deflection are the main reasons for improving the thermal fatigue resistance of gray cast iron with the biomimetic non-smooth surface.

A New Model for Autonomous, Networked Control Systems

Existing communication utilities, such as the ISO/OSI model and the associated automation pyramid, have limitations regarding the increased complexity of modern automation systems. The introduction of profiles for fieldbus systems, or field-area networks (FANs), was an important innovation. However, in the foreseeable future the number of FAN nodes in building automation systems is expected to increase drastically. And here the authors see an opportunity to revolutionize the operation of intelligent, autonomous systems based on FANs. The paper introduces a system based on bionic principles to process the information obtained from a large number of diverse sensors. By means of multilevel symbolization, the amount of information to be processed is substantially reduced. A symbolic processing model is introduced that enables the processing of real world information, creates a world representation, and evaluates scenarios that occur in this representation. Two applications involving human actions in a building automation environment are briefly discussed. It is argued that the use of internal symbolization leads to greater flexibility in the case of a large number of sensors, providing the ability to adapt to changing sensor inputs in an intelligent way

Micro robot prototype for colonoscopy and in vitro experiments

For actively diagnosing the colon's pathologies micro-invasively or non-invasively, an autonomous prototype of the earthworm-like robot for colonoscopy was designed according to the principle of bionics, and manufactured using precision process technology. In vitro experiments in pig colon were carried out. The micro robot was driven directly by an electromagnetic linear driver. The mobile cells were joined with joints of two degrees of freedom, and the whole body was flexible. The direction of movement and the angle of imaging can be controlled by the shape memory alloy (SMA). In experiments, locomotion efficient and locomotion ability was analysed carefully. Locomotion force and velocity were tested. In vitro experiments in pig colon demonstrated that the micro robot can navigate though the colon by itself reliably and freely, which will be useful for the application of the robot to colonoscopy in the clinic.

Assembly planning using a novel immune approach

Inspired by the vertebrate immune system, artificial immune system (AIS) has emerged as a new branch of computational intelligence. This paper explores the application of AIS in the problem of assembly planning and proposes a novel approach, called the immune optimization approach (IOA), to generate the optimal assembly plan. Based on the bionic principles of AIS, IOA introduces manifold immune operations including immune selection, clonal selection, inoculation and immune metabolism to derive the optimal assembly sequence. Maintenance of population diversity, attention to the local as well as the global search, and employment of heuristic knowledge to direct the search of optimized assembly sequences are the major concerns of IOA. The details of IOA are presented and the immune operations are discussed. Two practical products are taken as examples to illustrate the validity of IOA in assembly planning, and encouraging solutions in quality and efficiency are achieved. Comparisons with genetic algorithm demonstrate that IOA finds the optimal assembly solution or near-optimal ones more reliably and more efficiently, indicating that IOA has potential and advantages in dealing with assembly planning.

Dam health diagnosis and evaluation

Based on the bionics principle in the life sciences field, we regard a dam as a vital andintelligent system. A bionics model is constructed to observe, diagnose and evaluate damhealth. The model is composed of a sensing system (nerve), central processing unit(cerebrum) and decision-making implement (organism). In addition, the model, indexsystem and engineering method on dam health assessment are presented. The proposedtheories and methods are applied to evaluate dynamically the health of one concretedam.

THE PROCESS AND MODEL OF INFORMATION ACQUISITION

As the first link in the information chain, Information Acquisition has become one of the most important branches in information science and technology. A basic information acquisition process is a multi-layer one that consists of the material layer for signal transduction, the data layer for sensor data fusion and the perception layer for information abstraction. While the material layer can be described as a continuous channel in information transmission, the data layer is a multiple discrete channel in the communication system. To analyze the perception layer, the μ-space theory in high dimensional geometric topology and the Γ-space theory based on statistical mechanics are introduced. A general model of information acquisition, which explains the working principle of intelligent sensors with self-adaptive function, is established according to the acquisition process and bionic principle.

Chemical fibres: Present and future. Look at the next century. Part II

The trends in the development of chemical fibre production processes are analyzed and the general characteristics of the change in their manufacture as a function of the fundamental determining factors are found. The characteristics of chemical fibre production processes and subsequent treatments are examined and the possibilities of optimizing and intensifying existing technologies and improving the properties of the fibres by physical and chemical modification are demonstrated. Fibre formation in nature and industry is compared. The possibilities of creating new fibre production technologies, using methods of bionics in particular, are demonstrated. The development of the raw-material base for chemical fibres, including finding new sources of raw materials, is evaluated. The development of alternative principles for spinning chemical fibres and new technologies and types of fibres should be expected: production of fibres of the Lyocell type by dissolving cellulose in organic solvents will solve the problem of development of hydrated cellulose fibres, which is important due to the gradual decrease in production of viscose fibres; creation of fibres based on synthetic polypeptides of the fibroin type and production of chemical fibres—close analogs of natural silk and cobwebs; use of the principles of bionics based on synthesis of regular block-copolymers of defined structure which allow regulating the properties of the fibres by their self-organization. Use of water as a solvent will allow creating “environmentally clean” fibre production processes. The development of polyvinyl alcohol fibre production is due to the creation of new methods of synthesis of polyvinyl alcohol. Water is also the basic component of solvents of synthetic polypeptides. New, alternative raw-material sources based on synthesis of monomers from atmospheric components (carbon dioxide, nitrogen) and water, biotechnological processes, growth of highly productive cellulose-containing crops, and others are becoming important for ensuring increasing chemical fibre production volumes.

International Conference on Chemical Fibres. Chemical Fibres: Present and Future. Look at the Next Century. Part 2

The trends in the development of chemical fibre production processes are analyzed and the general characteristics of the change in their manufacture as a function of the fundamental determining factors are found. The characteristics of chemical fibre production processes and subsequent treatments are examined and the possibilities of optimizing and intensifying existing technologies and improving the properties of the fibres by physical and chemical modification are demonstrated. Fibre formation in nature and industry is compared. The possibilities of creating new fibre production technologies, using methods of bionics in particular, are demonstrated. The development of the raw-material base for chemical fibres, including finding new sources of raw materials, is evaluated. The development of alternative principles for spinning chemical fibres and new technologies and types of fibres should be expected: production of fibres of the Lyocell type by dissolving cellulose in organic solvents will solve the problem of development of hydrated cellulose fibres, which is important due to the gradual decrease in production of viscose fibres; creation of fibres based on synthetic polypeptides of the fibroin type and production of chemical fibres @mdash; close analogs of natural silk and cobwebs; use of the principles of bionics based on synthesis of regular block-copolymers of defined structure which allow regulating the properties of the fibres by their self-organization. Use of water as a solvent will allow creating @ldquo;environmentally clean@rdquo; fibre production processes. The development of polyvinyl alcohol fibre production is due to the creation of new methods of synthesis of polyvinyl alcohol. Water is also the basic component of solvents of synthetic polypeptides. New, alternative raw-material sources based on synthesis of monomers from atmospheric components (carbon dioxide, nitrogen) and water, biotechnological processes, growth of highly productive cellulose-containing crops, and others are becoming important for ensuring increasing chemical fibre production volumes.