Innovations

Below you will see some innovations inspired by nature.

Gecko Feet Adhesive

Geckos have the ability to scale up smooth surfaces. They are able to achieve this goal by having millions of microscopic hairs on the bottom of each of their toes. Every hair has a very powerful, but miniscule grip.(1)

Watercube

When China hosted the Beijing Olympics in 2008, it amazed its guests with is articular design, it was dubbed the Watercube. The Watercube's design is based on the structure of soap bubbles, giving it a natural feel and earthquake resistance.(2)

Spider Web Glass

Certain spiders protect their delicately crafted nets with a special silk rope that reflects ultraviolet rays. Birds can see the ultraviolet rays and recognize the webs they should avoid. If engineers can reproduce this effect, it might save birds from their occasional accidental suicide runs into glassy buildings. German engineers at Arnold Glas copied the spiders and glazed their Ornilux-brand glass with a web-like pattern of ultraviolet-reflecting coating to save the birds.(3)

'Candy-Coated Vaccines'

Biomatrica, a San Diego company, copied a process that protects live vaccines so that they no longer need to be refrigerated — half of vaccines are lost to breaks in refrigeration during transportation or treatment. Biomatrica’s chemical barrier "shrink-wraps" the vaccine until it can be reanimated with water.(4)