Nature’s lessons

Application of nature in products

There are a growing number of examples whereby lessons from nature have been applied to producing a new solution. Examples include Velcro from the dog burr, self-cleaning paint from the lotus plant, anti-reflective surfaces based on insect eyes and dry adhesive tape from reptiles.

By understanding nature, it is unusual to find a unique species but several varieties of the species. The diagram below shows different species of animals which all exude ‘glue’. The glue is not the same for each species so if you wanted to find a glue which is reusable and weak you would mimic the glue from the gecko. If you wanted a strong glue you would mimic the glue of the barnacle.