Biomimetics - Biologically Inspired Technologies - Yoseph Bar Cohen Episode 2 Part 8 ppt

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Biomimetics: Reality, Challenges, and Outlook

Yoseph Bar-Cohen

CONTENTS

20.1 Introduction 495

20.2 Biology as a Model 496

20.3 Characteristics of Biologically Inspired Mechanisms 498

20.4 Turning Science Fiction into Engineering Reality 501

20.4.1 Simulators and Virtual Robots 502

20.4.2 Robots as an Integral Part of our Society 503

20.5 Smart Structures and Materials 504

20.6 Impact of Biomimetics on Nonengineering Fields 504

20.7 Human Deviation from Nature Models 506

20.8 Present Technology, Future Possibilities, and Potentials 507

20.9 Areas of Concerns and Challenges to Biomimetics 509

20.10 Conclusion 510

Acknowledgment 512

References 512

Websites 513

After 3.8 billion years of evolution, nature has learned how to use minimum resources to achieve maximal performance and come up with numerous lasting solutions (Gordon, 1976) Recognizing that nature’s capability continues to be significantly ahead of many of our technologies, humans have always sought to mimic nature The field of study pertaining to this, which is also called biomimetics, bionics, or biogenesis, has reached impressive levels It includes imitating some of the human thinking process in computers by mimicking such human characteristics as making decisions and operating autonomously Biology offers a great model for the development of mechanical tools, computational algorithms, effective materials, as well as novel mechanisms and information technology Some of the commercial implementations of the progress in biomi-metics can be seen in toy stores, where toys seem and behave like living creatures (e.g., dogs, cats, birds, and frogs) More serious benefits of biomimetics include the development of prosthetic implants that appear very much like they are of biological origin, and sensory aiding mechanisms that are interfaced to the brain to assist in hearing, seeing, or controlling instruments As described and discussed throughout this book, the topic of biomimetics is very broad and covers many disciplines, with applications and implications for numerous areas of our life

495

Robotics is one biomimetic area in which advances are continually being made The movieindustry has created a vision of robots that are human-like at a level significantly far beyond what iscurrently feasible However, even though it will be a long time before such robotic capabilitiesbecome a reality, there are already numerous examples of accomplishments (Bar-Cohen andBreazeal, 2003) Initially, robots were not well received because they were considered too bulkyand too expensive, requiring major amount of work to employ, maintain, modify, and upgrade.Solving these problems by making robots more biomimetic became feasible when powerfullightweight microprocessors were introduced These improvements included high computationspeed, very large memory, wireless communication with a wide bandwidth, effective controlalgorithms, miniature position indicators using Global Positioning Satellites (GPS), and powerfulsoftware tools including artificial intelligence techniques Advancements in computers and controlmethodologies led to the development of sophisticated robots with a significant expansion of thecapability to emulate biological systems Autonomous robots were developed and they havesuccessfully demonstrated their ability to perform many human- and animal-like functions Suchrobots offer superior capabilities to operate in harsh or hazardous environments that are toodangerous for humans Progress in intelligent biomimetic robots is expected to impact many aspects

of our lives, especially in performing tasks that are too risky to execute by humans, or too expensive

to employ humans (e.g., operate as movie actors) These robots may also be used in tasks thatcombine the advantages of biological creatures in a hybrid form, which are far beyond any knownsystem or creature, including operating in multiple environments (flying, walking, swimming,digging, etc.)

This book has focused on aspects that are related to biology which have inspired artificialapplications and technologies Many inventions have been based on concepts that have had theirroots in biology However, since natural inventions are not recorded in a form that one can identify

in engineering terms, the inventions that were produced by humans may have been coincidentlysimilar, subconsciously inspired, or their origin in nature may not have been well documented Inthis chapter, the author makes an attempt to summarize the current status of biomimetics, itschallenges, and its outlook for the future

Nature has an enormous pool of inventions that passed the harsh test of practicality and durability in

a changing environment In order to harness the most from nature’s inventions it is critical to bridgethe gap between the fields of biology and engineering This bridging effort can be a key to turningnature’s inventions into engineering capabilities, tools, and mechanisms In order to approachnature in engineering terms it is necessary to sort biological capabilities along technologicalcategories using a top-down structure or vice versa Namely, one can take each aspect of thebiologically identified characteristics and seek an analogy in terms of an artificial technology.The emergence of nano-technologies, miniature, highly capable and fast microprocessors, effectivepower storage, large compact and fast access memory, wireless communication and so onare making the mimicking of nature capabilities significantly more feasible One reason for this

is both natural and artificial structures depend on the same fundamental units of atoms andmolecules Generally, biological terms can be examined and documented analogously to engineer-ing categories as shown in Table 20.1

Some of nature’s capabilities can inspire new mechanisms, devices, and robots Examplesinclude the beaver’s engineering capability to build dams, and the woodpecker’s ability to impactwood while suppressing the effect from damaging its brain Another inspiring capability is theability of numerous creatures to operate with multiple mobility options including flying, digging,swimming, walking, hopping, running, climbing, and crawling Increasingly, biologically inspiredcapabilities are becoming practical including collision avoidance using whiskers or sonars,

controlled camouflage, and materials self-healing One of the challenging capabilities will be tocreate reconfigurable systems that match or exceed the butterfly life stages that include egg,caterpillar, cocoon, and butterfly Other challenges include making miniature devices that can flywith enormous maneuvering capability like a dragonfly; adhere to smooth and rough walls like agecko; camouflage by adapting itself to the texture, patterns, and shape of the surroundingenvironment like a chameleon, or reconfigure its body to travel through very narrow tubes like

an octopus Further challenges also include processing complex 3D images in real time; recyclingmobility power for highly efficient operation and locomotion; self-replication; self-growing usingresources from the surrounding terrain; chemical generation and storage of energy; and many suchcapabilities for which biology offers a model for science and engineering inspiration While manyaspects of biology are still beyond our understanding, significant progress has been made

Biological designs and processes follow the template that is written in the organisms’ DNA,which defines the building blocks of all living organisms This archival storage of constructioncodes of all organisms’ is stored in the nucleus of all living cells and it consists of strands of nucleicacids: guanine, adenine, thymine, and cytosine These four nucleic acids are assembled as longsentences of biological laws and they guide the function of living cells through a simple universalprocess Information contained in the DNA is transcribed in the nucleus by RNA polymerase andsent out of the nucleus as messenger RNA that is translated at the ribosomes into amino acids, thebuilding blocks of proteins Proteins are the foundation of all life: from cellular to organism levelsand they play a central role in the manifestation of populations, ecosystems, and global dynamics.Designers of human-made systems are seeking to produce sequence-specific polymers that consti-

Table 20.1 Characteristic Similarities of Biology and Engineering Systems

Biology Engineering Bioengineering, Biomimetics, Bionics, and Biomechanics Body System Systems with multifunctional materials and structures are

developed emulating the capability of biological systems Skeleton and bones Structure and

support struts

Support structures are part of every human made system Further, exoskeletons are developed to augment the oper- ation of humans for medical, military, and other applications (Chapter 6)

Brain Computer Advances in computers are being made modeling and

emu-lating the operation of the human brain, for example, the adaptation of the association approach of memory search in the brain to make faster data access (Chapters 3 to 5) Nervous system Electric systems and

neural networks

Our nervous system is somewhat analogous to electrical tems, especially when it is incorporated with neural networks The connections of elements in both systems are based on significantly different characteristics

sys-Intelligence Artificial intelligence There are numerous aspects of artificial intelligence that have

been inspired by biology including: Augmented Perception, Augmented Reality, Autonomous Systems, Computational Intelligence, Expert Systems, Fuzzy Logic, Intelligent Control, Learning and Reasoning Systems, Machine Consciousness, Neural Networks, Path Planning, Programming, Task Plan- ning, Simulation, Symbolic Models, etc (Chapters 3 to 5) Senses Sensors Computer vision, artificial vision, acoustic and ultrasonic

technology, radar, and other proximity detectors all have ect biological analogies However, at their best, the capability

dir-of the human-made sensors is nowhere near as good as biosensors (Chapters 11 and 17)

Muscles Actuators Electroactive polymers are artificial actuators with very close

functional similarity to natural muscles (Chapters 2, 9, and 10) Electrochemical

power generation

Rechargeable batteries

The use of biological materials, namely, carbohydrates, fats, and sugars to produce power will offer mechanical systems with enormous advantages

DNA Computer code Efforts are being made to develop artificial equivalent of DNA

(Chapters 7 and 8)

tute proteins in order to make products and services that meet the needs of humans and the demand

of consumers Cloning the DNA allows you to produce synthetic life while adapting nature’sprinciples allows you to create artificial life and biomimetic tools and capabilities

There are many characteristics that identify a biomimetic mechanism and some of the importantones include the ability to operate autonomously in complex environments, perform multifunc-tional tasks and adaptability to unplanned and unpredictable changes Making mechanisms withsuch characteristics dramatically increases the possible capabilities and can reach levels that can be

as good or superior to humans or animals This may include operating for 24 h a day without a break

or operating in conditions that pose health risks to humans Benefits from such capabilities caninclude performance of security monitoring and surveillance, search and rescue operations, chem-ical, biological, and nuclear hazardous operations, immediate corrective and warning actions aswell as others that are only limited by our imagination Some of the biologically inspired capabil-ities that are/can be implemented into effective mechanisms include:

. Multifunctional materials and structures (Chapters 12 and 14): Biological systems usematerials and structures in an effective configuration and functionality incorporating sensor andactuation to operate and react as needed Using multifunctional materials and structures allowsnature to maximize the use of the available resources at minimum mass (Rao, 2003) An example isour bones, which support our body weight and provide the necessary body stiffness while operating

as our ‘‘factory’’ for blood that is produced in the bone marrow Another example is the feathers inbirds, which are used for flying as well as for thermal insulation and the control of heat dissipation.Mimicking multi-functionality capabilities, system are made to operate more effectively in robotsprovided with ability to grasp and manipulate objects and with mobility of appendages or sub-appendages (hands, fingers, claws, wings) Some of the concerns with regard to the application ofmultiple functionality is the associated design difficulties where there is a need to simultaneouslysatisfy many constraints Design changes in one part of the system affect many other parts

. High strength configurations: The geometry of birds’ eggs have quite interesting istics On the one hand, they are amazingly strong from the outside, so a bird can warm its eggs bysitting on them till the chicks hatch On the other hand, they are easily breakable from the inside, sothe chicks can break the shell with their beak once they are ready to emerge into the outside world

character-. Just-in-time manufacturing: Producing as needed and at the time of the need is widely used inbiology and such examples include the making of the web by spiders or the production of the toxicchemicals by snakes Such a capability is increasingly adapted by industry as a method of loweringthe cost of operation Many industries are now manufacturing their products in small quantities asneeded to meet consumers demand right at the assembly line Thus, industry is able to cope with thechanging demand and decline or rise in orders for its products

. Deployable structures: The leaves of most plants are folded or rolled while still inside the bud.The way they unfold to emerge into to a fully open leaf can inspire deployable structures for space,including gossamer structures such as solar sails and antennae as well as terrestrial applicationssuch as tents and other covering structures (Guest and Pellegrino, 1994; Unda et al., 1994;Kobayashi et al., 1998)

. Hammering without vibration back-propagation: The woodpecker (Picidae family) has theamazing capability to tap and drill holes in solid wood in search of insects and other prey (Bock,1999) One example is the Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus), which is a member of thewoodpecker family, shown in Figure 20.1 The brain of the woodpecker is protected from damage

as there is very little space between it and the skull preventing rotation during impact Somewoodpecker species have modified joints between certain bones in the skull and upper jaw, as well

as muscles which contract to absorb the shock of the hammering A strong neck, tail-feathermuscles, and a chisel-like bill are other hammering adaptations in some species This ability toabsorb the shocks and prevent damage to the bird brain or cause disorientation could inspire a

mechanism for protecting operators of jackhammers The vibrations generated by the jackhammerback-propagate into the hand and body of the operator These vibrations can cause severe damageincluding the pulling out the teeth from the operator mouth Mimicking the shock-absorbingmechanism of the woodpecker beak may offer an effective approach to suppressing back-propa-gated vibrations from the jackhammer.

. Nanostructures (Chapters 7 and 8): Biology consists of complex nanostructures that allowmany capabilities that are far beyond current human capabilities Recent developments in nano-and micro-fabrication, as well as self-assembly techniques, are driving the development of newfunctional materials and unique coatings that mimic biomaterials For controlled adhesion, effortsare underway to mimic the geckos and their setae These setae, which are microscopic hairs on thebottom of their feet, use van der Waals forces to run fast on smooth surfaces such as glass (Autumnand Peattie, 2003) Further, there are efforts to produce the biomimetic equivalence of cells asdescribed in Chapters 1 and 15

. Behavior and cooperative operation (Chapters 3, 4, 5, and 16): Biologically inspired systemsneed to autonomously recognize and navigate in various environments, perform critical tasks thatinclude terrain following, target location and tracking, and cooperative tasks such as hive andswarm behavior Such activity requires the incorporation of principles that are derived frombiological behaviors of social groups Ants serve as a model for accomplishing tasks that aremuch bigger than an individual

. Mimicking aerodynamic performance: The development of aerodynamic structures and tems was inspired by birds and the shape of wind-dispersed seeds Trees disperse their seeds togreat distances using various aerodynamic principles that allow them to use the wind Thepropelling capability of seeds has inspired designs of futuristic missions with spacecraft thatcould soft land on atmospheric planets such as Mars Adapting this design may offer a betteralternative than parachutes, with a better capability to steer towards selected sites In recent years,increasing efforts have been made to develop miniature flying vehicles, especially since the terror

sys-Figure 20.1 A view of the Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) which belongs to the woodpecker family (Courtesy

of Ulf T Runesson, Faculty of Forestry and the Forest Environment, Lakehead University, Ontario, Canada: www.borealforest.org.)

attack in September 11, 2001 Micro-air-vehicle (MAV) with wing spans of several centimeters hasbeen developed using a propeller, and efforts are currently underway to produce even smaller MAVunits (http://uav.wff.nasa.gov/).

. Mobility (Chapter 6): Mobility is a characteristic of animals that involves multi-functionality,energy efficiency (not necessarily optimized), and autonomous locomotion Animals can operate inmultiple terrains, performing various locomotion functions and combinations, including walking,crawling, climbing (trees, cliffs, or walls), jumping and leaping, swimming, flying, grasping,digging, and manipulating objects Integration of such locomotion functions into a hybrid mech-anism would potentially enable mobile transitions between air, land, and water Making robots withsuch capabilities will far exceed any biological equivalence

. Attaching to steep walls and upside down from a ceiling: As shown in Chapter 1, the swallow iscapable of attaching itself to walls by carrying its body weight on its fingernails The gecko is capable

of controlled adherence to rough and soft surfaces Mimicking this capability, a gecko tape was made

by microfabrication of dense arrays of flexible plastic pillars, the geometry of which was optimized

to ensure their collective adhesion (Geim et al., 2003) This approach showed a way to manufactureself-cleaning, reattachable dry adhesives, although problems related to the gecko tapes durabilityand mass production are yet to be resolved Generally, controlled adhesion is a capability that issought by roboticists to adapt into robotic devices A four-legged robot, named Steep Terrain AccessRobot (STAR) (Badescu et al., 2005), is being developed at Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and isdesigned to climb rocks and steep cliffs using an ultrasonic/sonic anchor that uses low axial force toanchor the legs (Bar-Cohen and Sherrit 2003) This robot is shown in Figure 20.2

. Autonomous locomotion: Inspiration from biology led to the introduction of robots and systemsthat operate autonomously with self-learning capability (Chapters 3, 4, and 6) Such a capability tooperate without real-time control by a human operator is critical to the National Aeronautics andSpace Administration (NASA) missions that are performed at distant extraterrestrial conditionswhere remote-control operation is not feasible The distance of millions of miles from Earth toMars causes a significant communication time delay, and necessitates an autonomous capability toassure the success of the NASA planetary exploration missions

. Sensors and feedback: The integration of sensors into biomimetic systems is critical to theiroperation and it is necessary to provide closed-loop feedback to accomplish biologically inspired

Figure 20.2 (See color insert following page 302) A four-legged robot called Steep Terrain Access Rover (STAR) is under development at JPL (Courtesy of Brett Kennedy, JPL.)

tasks Nature uses many types of sensors, and some of them were already mimicked in artificialdevices, including the collision-detection whiskers in automatic vacuum cleaners and mobile toys.Combining the input from the sensor and the control system is critical to the operation of thespecific systems The use of biologically inspired centralized and decentralized control architec-tures offers advantages in speed of operation and simplicity of the selected control architecture Thetopic of vision as human sensing and its imitation were covered in Chapters 11 and 17 of this book.

. Optimization tools and algorithms: Various optimization tools have been developed usingbiological models As described in Chapters 4 and 5, the simulation of natural selection andsurvival of the fittest, which is the key to the process of evolution, has been adapted mathematically

in the form of genetic algorithm To survive, individuals of any species must reproduce andregenerate and this requires new members of the population to be fit and adaptable to changingenvironmental conditions Only the fittest individuals survive while the weak members perish orare killed by their natural enemies Inherent to the genetic algorithm approach is, the definition ofwhat features identify the fittest, where in nature, the definition keeps evolving with changingenvironmental conditions and across species Unlike nature, in genetic algorithms the definition ofthe fittest is stability By identifying the stable elements in a population, genetic algorithms allowfor the ultimate achievement of an ‘‘ideal’’ population and this is a situation that is not paralleled innature

. Machine–human interaction: Intuitive interaction between human and machines is increasinglybecoming an issue of attention of computer and instrument manufactures As efforts are made toreach consumers outside the pool of high-tech individuals, it is increasingly critical to makehuman–machine interaction more users friendly To address this need many computer monitorsand input pads are equipped with touch screen capability Systems with voice recognition arebecoming a standard in information services that are provided over the phone When calling yourbank, airline, phone operator, and many businesses today you are greeted by a computer operatorthat interacts with you and understands your answers from a selected menu of choices In parallel,efforts are underway to develop robots that can recognize body language and emotional expressions(sad, happy, etc.) and respond accordingly (Chapter 6; Bar-Cohen and Breazeal, 2003) Other forms

of interaction that are emerging include direct control from the human brain to allow disabledindividuals to operate independently

Biology is filled with solutions and inventions that has been the subject of mimicking and continues

to offer enormous potential for human-made mechanisms, tools, and algorithms (Benyus, 1998).Some of the functions that are performed by creatures are far from becoming an engineering reality,such as the octopus’ capability to travel through narrow passages significantly smaller than its bodycross section Making a robot that can camouflage itself as well as an octopus (Cott, 1938; Hanlon

et al., 1999) and defend itself with multiple tentacles using numerous suction cups and poisonousneedles offers enormous potential for homeland defense, but it is far from reality Science-fictionmovies and literature have created a level of expectation for the field of biomimetics and roboticsthat is far from reality, though these expectations offer creative ideas Employing biologicallyinspired principles, mobility, sensing, and navigation are driving revolutionary capabilities inemerging robots Development in biomimetics may lead to a day when intelligent robots couldreplace dogs, offering unmatched benefits in terms of capability and intellectual support It maybecome possible to discuss with robots strategies for stock market investment, obtain advice about apersonal problem, or possibly debate philosophical thoughts and politics Also, one may be able tohave the robot read books in any desired language, accent, or gender voice, and answer questionsabout unclear words or sentence in a book, as well as provide related information and background.The robot may be able to cheer you up, laugh when a funny situation occurs, smell and identifyodors, as well as taste food and provide detailed nutrition and health information Being fullyautonomous, biomimetic robots would conduct self-diagnostics and go to the selected maintenance

facility for periodic checkup and possibly repair themselves as needed Rapid prototyping willenable fast development of this technology as improvements are introduced to the field Whilemany positive aspects may result from the development of such robots with humanistic capabilitiesand behavior, negative issues may arise that will require attention Such issues may include ownerliability in case of accident or ‘‘misbehavior’’ of the robot, as well as the potential use of robots forunlawful acts.

For many years, the beneficiaries of biologically inspired robot have been the entertainmentindustry, including toys and movies Robots with biomimetic characteristics are becoming popularconsumer products, reflecting the public fascination with the realistic capabilities that can beenabled in robots Such products include robotic toys such as the Mattel’s Miracle Moves Baby,which was created and developed in partnership with TOYinnovation, Inc Miracle MovesBaby was introduced in 2001, and sold widely at its introduction This doll wakes up the way areal baby would, yawns, appears tired, sucks her bottle and her thumb, giggles, burps, and is rocked

to sleep in the most life-like manner

Further, as the evolution in capability has increased it has reached the level that the moresophisticated and demanding fields as space science are considering biomimetic robots At the JetPropulsion Laboratory, which is part of the NASA, four and six-legged robots have been underdevelopment for future missions to Mars Such robots include the Limbed Excursion Mobile UtilityRobot (LEMUR) and the Steep Terrain Access Robot (STAR) (Badescu et al., 2005) These types

of robots are developed to travel across rough terrain, acquire and analyze samples, and performmany other functions that are attributed to legged animals including walking, grasping, objectmanipulation, and wall climbing Advances in this technology may potentially lead to future NASAmissions, in which operations could resemble a plot from a movie or science-fiction book more thanconventional mission operations Equipped with multi-functional tools and multiple cameras, thenew models of LEMUR are intended to inspect and maintain installations beyond humans’ easyreach This robot has six legs, each of which has interchangeable end-effectors as required toperform the required mission The axi-symmetric layout is much like a starfish or octopus, with apanning camera system that allows omni-directional movement and manipulation operations.Besides the possibility of robots that emulate human capabilities, science fiction also suggestshumans with supernatural capabilities A human being with bionic muscles is synonymous withsuperhuman characters in movies and TV series Driven by bionic muscles, these characters areportrayed as capable of strength and speeds that are far superior to humans The development ofartificial muscles using electroactive polymers (EAP) materials has made the use of bionic muscles

a potential reality These materials can induce large strains (stretching, contracting or bending) inresponse to electrical stimulation (Bar-Cohen, 2004) EAP-based actuators may be used to elimin-ate the need for gears, bearings, and other components that complicate the construction of robots,reducing their costs, weight, size, and premature failures Further, these materials can be used tomake biomimetic robots that appear and behave more realistically Robots are being introducedwith increased capability and sophistication, including the ability to express emotions both verballyand facially as well as respond emotionally to such expressions The first commercial productdriven by EAP that emerged in 2002 is a Fish-Robot (Eamex, Japan) that swims without a motor orbatteries It uses EAP materials that simply bend upon stimulation For power it uses inductive coilsthat are energized from the top and bottom of the fish tank This toy represents a major milestone forthe field, making a very realistic looking fish

20.4.1 Simulators and Virtual Robots

For many years, the entertainment industry has been imitating living creatures using numerousforms that include puppets, cartoons, manikins, and others Making animated movies is a well-established industry with an extensive heritage, where artists draw creatures that represent livinganimals, humans, or imagined creatures These cartoon figures are made with biomimetic appear-

ance and behavior but with capabilities that are only limited by the artist’s imagination andcreativity Generally, such animated creatures do not have to obey the laws of physics, and theycan perform unrealistic tasks that defy gravity and other forces of nature However, cartoons canindicate future advances in biomimetic technology While the operation of biomimetic robots coulduse some of the kinematic algorithms that are well developed by the animation industry, there aremany issues that need to be addressed when making actual robots These issues include control,stability, feedback, vibration suppression, effect of impact, power, mass, volume, obstacle avoid-ance, environmental conditions, workspace, and other real-world requirements In order to addressthese issues without the costly process of making and testing real robots, one can use computersimulations, in which the laws of physics are accurately represented.

Computer simulation has become a critical development tool that can be used to test thebehavior of simulated system and rapidly make modifications without the high cost of fabricationand testing The analytical phase is followed by rapid prototyping and other procedures ofaccelerated software development The development of computers and analytical tools, includingnumerical and logical models, has made possible a very powerful simulated representation of real-world activity Such tools are used to investigate the performance of complex systems, and addresssuch parameters as thermal, aerodynamic, mechanics, material behavior, and time-dependenteffects Also, electronic and mechanical issues of driving and operating the developed systemscan be integrated into the simulation model and studied on the computer Testing a real-worldsystem can be prohibitively expensive, or even impossible for situations in which making changescan be very difficult and time consuming Also, simulated testing to the point of failure can berepeated many times without serious consequences to the tested systems An example includes thesimulation of a car crash into a wall, in which safety engineers evaluate potential designs Theadvantage is that it reduces the number of real cars that may need to be instrumented and sacrificed.Other examples of simulated systems include the response of an aircraft structure to bird strikes,and the effect of loads on mechanical systems and new products Because of the complexity ofproducts, their behavior cannot be perfectly modeled Therefore, test products must still bephysically built and tested to destruction

20.4.2 Robots as an Integral Part of our Society

Making biomimetic robots requires attention to technical, philosophical, and social issues ation from science fiction sets expectations that will continually be bound by reality and the state ofthe art Making biomimetic robots is the electro-mechanical analog of biological cloning Beingincreasingly capable, the development of biomimetic robots, or the performance of artificialcloning, raises issues of concern with regard to questionable implementations This issue maybecome a topic of public debate in years and may reach the level that is currently involved with thetopics of fetal stem cells and human cloning As biomimetic robots with human characteristics arebecoming more an engineering reality, there may be a growing need to equip them with limitedself-defense and controlled-termination In parallel, there may be a rise in potential use of suchrobots for unlawful applications, and proper attention may be required by lawmakers to head offthis possibility in order to assure that such robots are used for positive applications As this needbegins to rise, it will become more important to give serious attention to the laws of Asimov (1950)that he defined for robots These laws address the human concern that robots may be designed toharm people According to these laws, the desired status of robots is as slaves to humanity, wherethey are allowed to protect themselves only as long as no human is physically hurt While theselaws reflect the desire to see ‘‘peaceful’’ robots as productive support tools it might not be realistic

Inspir-to expect them Inspir-to be designed only as Asimov’s law-obedient robots One would expect that somerobots would be designed by various governments to perform military and law enforcement tasksthat may involve violation of these laws

One can expect a revolution in our lives as such robots are developed to the point that theybecome part of our daily activity It would require the implementation of direct interaction schemesthat include the ability of robots to express themselves both in body language and verbal expres-sions Since different people view emotions and moods differently, users will need to have thecapability of user-friendly programming of the robot’s behavior, emotion, and mood This may also

be provided through self-learning and adaptive behavior just as kids learn that which is appropriate

or acceptable and that which is not Further, while computers will have superior capabilities overhumans, there will be a need to assure the social order with the clear role of robots as the slaves inmaster–slave relation A certain level of independence will need to be provided with a user-selectedautonomous operation vs fully programmable performance depending on the desired task Also,robots will need to have selectable behavior specifications that define their desired personality Thispersonality may include friendliness, and ‘‘cool’’ operations with various algorithms of humaninteraction and behavior

The development of smart materials has been the objective of researchers and engineers for overthree decades Materials, systems, and structures are identified as smart if they can interact with theenvironment and have an ability to predict the required future actions and to respond to change invarious ways Adaptive capabilities have already been implemented in commercial materials Forinstance, liquid crystals are used to indicate changes in temperature, and there are commerciallyavailable optical glasses that become dark with the increase in light intensity To behave ‘‘smart’’beyond the simple reactions to a specific condition, as sunglasses change their shade, it is necessary

to provide systems with the ability to learn the required response to various stimulations from theenvironment and be capable of predicting future conditions and prepare to respond optimally

It would be interesting to develop systems with individual characteristics that would be theresult of learning from the environment in which they operate and exhibit relatively wide variety ofshapes while still working properly It may be feasible to define structures in terms of the ability tocarry loads and the positions or places where it can hold or place objects Thus, such systems wouldnot need to be engineered to high tolerances, yet they will learn how to functionally deal with thedesign details Such development will require taking advantage of the increasingly evolving nano-technology, where minute sensors will be integrated throughout the structure to provide informa-tion and feedback for smart control Ultimately, such smart structures would need to design andconstruct themselves using resources from the environment or redistribute their structural materials

to allow effective handling of large loads Such an approach would enable producing lighter andsafer structures that eliminate stress concentrations, perform optimally, and operate with long lifeduration Structures will need to be designed with scalability in mind to allow adapting thetechnology to various aspects of our daily lives An interesting distinction between biologicalstructures with bones compared to robots is the fact that the biological elements are not rigidlyconnected It would be a challenge for future roboticists to develop robots that have such astructural flexibility of being an integrated system while still able to carry loads, move rapidly,and perform all these functions that we recognize as biological

Throughout the history of mankind, nature has been an inspiration to many nonengineering fieldsincluding entertainment, toys, and art with the results well documented in such artistic objects aspaintings, statues, structures, and other artifacts Engineering and art with biomimetic character-istics are increasingly being integrated in the construction of modern buildings and other structures

Examples of the influence of nature on construction are the architectural landmarks such as theSydney Opera House in Australia and the Esplanade Theater in Singapore The Sydney OperaHouse has an artistic configuration of sea shells It was originally designed by the Danish architectJoern Utzonhas and opened in 1973 The construction of the Esplanade Theater in Singapore wasinfluenced by the durian fruit (see Figure 20.3, right) In Singapore, this fruit is considered the king

of fruits — it is sweet, spiky, and weighs about 1 to 2 kg It is native to Malaysia and Indonesia,green to brown in color, oblong to round in shape, prickly with strong sharp thorns, emitting astrong, distinctive smell that puts most foreigners off For this reason, in Singapore it is forbidden tocarry it on public transportation such as aircraft and subway The durian fruit inspired theconstruction of the Esplanade Theater that was opened in October 2002 This building consists oftwo domes having the shape of this fruit with durian-like spikes that are used as sun shields (seeFigure 20.3, left) Due to its shape this theater is also known as the Durians Building

Another example shown in Figure 20.4 is the beech (Fagus sylvaticus) leaf (Kobayashi et al.,1998), which serves as an inspiring model The leaves of the beech emerge from the bud byunfolding its corrugated surface (Figure 20.4a) Interestingly, the leaf uses high angle folds to allow

it to be folded more compactly within the bud, though this arrangement it requires more time toexpand This may be needed to allow the plant to optimize the timing of the leaf deployment withecological and physiological conditions An artistic object that mimicked this leaf is shown inFigure 20.4b Called the ‘‘Leaf-Mat’’, it was created as a folding mat for children’s play-time and itconsists of a polypropylene base and felt

Another area that mimics biology is economy In nature, entities compete for energy, while in aneconomy they compete for money (Mattheick, 1994; Vincent, 2001) Plants compete to grow higher

in order to gain more sunlight, while animals compete for territory, sex, and food On the other hand,industry competes for customers to assure survival and growth In business, if a company cannotsurvive competition in the changing environment of the marketplace, it goes bankrupt, analogous todeath in biology The use of subsidies to support small companies can be viewed as similar to a smallplant that is supported with a stick or animal that is helped by its parents in its early stages Theseanimals and plants need to learn to operate independently; otherwise they will require supportthroughout their life and will never be able to handle the tough challenges of the real world

As mentioned in Chapter 1, the use of terminologies that are biologically inspired makescommunication of complex details easier to understand Examples include the use of the termsmale and female for plugs, erection of structures to describe their construction, head or tail for thelocation in a structure and many other such terms Increased use of such terms can be highlybeneficial to improvement in communication, training, and friendliness of users’ manual for

Figure 20.3 (See color insert following page 302) The Singaporean giant ‘‘durians’’ building called the Esplanade Theater (left) has the shape of this fruit that is considered the king of fruits (right) (The photo on the right is the courtesy of Anand Krishna Asundi, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.)

operation of new instruments The interface of machine and humans is becoming increasinglycomplicated, but the instructions for using them can be simplified by using biological terms andprinciples One can make new instruments more intuitive if concepts from nature are used, making

it easier to ‘‘figure out’’ how the instrument works, thereby reducing instructions or training

In order to ensure both the short-term existence and long-term species sustainability, all organismsmust grow, maintain existence, feed, and reproduce Generally, most organisms meet their basic lifeneeds within the boundaries of the habitat in which they live If they cannot compete in this habitat,then they must either adapt a different strategy, move to a different habitat in which they cancompete, or die In the short term, the adaptation capability of individual organisms helps speciessurvive if followed by genetic modifications that sustain the long-term survival of the species Thespecific characteristics of the adaptation are determined by the constraints of the environment andthe genetic make up of the specific species

(a)

Figure 20.4 (a) Unfolding of the common beech (Fagus sylvaticus) leaves as they open from the bud stage (left)

to corrugated leaves (right) (These photos are a courtesy of the Royal Society and of Julian Vincent and they were taken by Biruta Kresling; both Julian and Biruta are from The University of Bath, England.) (From Kobayashi H., B Kresling, and J F V Vincent, The geometry of unfolding tree leaves, Proceeding of the Royal Society, Series

B, vol 265 (1998), pp 147–154 http://www.bath.ac.uk/mech-eng/biomimetics/LeafGeometry.pdf With sion.) (b) A biomimetic art called ‘Leaf-Mat’ mimics the folding leaves and it is a folding mat that is made of polypropylene deployment and felt (Courtesy of Adi Marom, Landscape Products Co., Tokyo, Japan.)