| About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2025 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
Mechanics and Physiological Adaptation of Hard and Soft Biomaterials and Biological Tissues
|
| Presentation Title |
Sustainable innovation – learning from nature’s grippers and stingers |
| Author(s) |
Eduard Arzt, Marc A. Meyers |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Eduard Arzt |
| Abstract Scope |
Evolution has evolved fascinating resource-efficient and sustainable materials architectures to ensure survival. Inspired by nature, micropatterning of polymeric materials has become a powerful paradigm for controlling adhesion or for optimizing penetrative objects. For adhesion, fundamental studies have demonstrated the benefit of microfibrillar architectures over non-structured contacts, inspiring innovative pick-and-place systems. But several problems remain: how do we release micro-objects with negligible mass? And how can we ensure reliability of gripping, also in demanding conditions such as in space? We have proposed a machine-learning based optical monitoring system that images the individual fibrillar contacts in operando and predicts successful handling with high accuracy, indicating, even for incomplete or off-center gripping. Similar microstructures have been engineered into delicate adhesives for skin and body organs. Further examples of bioinspiration for optimized stinger ‘design’ in nature will be presented. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |
| Keywords |
Biomaterials, Sustainability, Mechanical Properties |