Biomimetics and the Evolution of Robotics and Intelligent Systems

Abstract

Biologically inspired systems, known as “biomimetics” or the “mimicry of nature,” is an interdisciplinary scientific research field inspired by nature and featured by the technology outcome (hardware and software) and lies at the interface of biology, physics, chemistry, information, and engineering sciences. Biomimetics is initiated by making nature a model of inspiration that would immensely help conscious abstraction of new innovative principles and creative design ideas and concepts that help developing new techniques and functionalities, seeking new paradigms and methods, designing new materials, and developing new streams of intelligent machines, robots, systems, devices, algorithms, etc. Biologically inspired approaches create a new reality with great development and application potential with the goal of identifying specific desirable qualities and attributes in biological systems and using them in the design of new products and systems. This chapter provides the importance of biomimetic as an interdisciplinary field and its evolution, advances, challenges, and constraints along with the associated enabling technologies supporting its growth. In addition, it introduces scientific ideas and directions of research activities in the field. The chapter also presents key developments in the field of biomimetic robots and underlines the challenges facing it.