Taking inspiration from nature

Velcro, solar panels, and planes have all taken inspiration from nature in one form or another. The design for Velcro, for example, was inspired by the hooks found on burs which facilitate seed dispersal. All of these products are incredibly effective at overcoming issues faced by humans, whether that be fastening our shoes or travelling around the world.

The natural environment provides us with a plethora of ecosystem services: These include regulating the climate, releasing oxygen we breathe and providing medicinal benefits to name a few. Nature is arguably the greatest innovator; we can examine how nature has evolved to overcome various problems and apply this to solve human design challenges. The term for this practice is ‘biomimicry’, whereby humans can draw inspiration from the natural environment to overcome challenges. This is not a new concept, as humans have used nature as a blueprint for centuries.

Here at Exo-Engineering, we have also been taking inspiration from a shape that is well distributed throughout nature: the hexagon. It may not seem all that common, but various organisms use this shape to their advantage. The most obvious example is beehive cells, which incorporate hexagons into their shape to make efficient use of space. Snakes and turtles also have scales/shells which are comprised of hexagonal units for the same purpose.

Our ExoArmour achieves a net carbon saving of up to 17% when compared to traditional concrete and incorporates up to 90% recycled material. In our application, hexagonal patterns are cast into our ExoArmour to create complex heterogeneous surface textures. This specifically aims to increase surface complexity and maximise water retention of our ExoHabitats and ExoRock in intertidal zones, setting our products apart from our competitors. Traditional methods of hard engineering utilise homogenous surfaces which are effective at reducing erosion, but have little consideration for organism habitat provision. The use of textured surfaces encourages bio-colonisation of our products when they are used in marine environments, developing rich habitats and encouraging net biodiversity gain. These Nature Based Solutions are therefore not only effective at protecting coastlines from erosion, but also mimic the natural habitat of organisms to encourage bio-colonisation.

We are currently trialling the use of our unique hexagonal patterns in our ExoReef scour protection units. The patterns have proved effective in facilitating rapid bio-colonisation of our ExoRock units, with the hope that this success can be transferred to applications on our scour protection units. It is aimed to facilitate with the transportation process, increase overall strength and durability and reduce likelihood of physical movement after deployment.