Journal of Bionic Engineering

Significance and Progress of Bionics

Yongxiang Lu

J4. 2004, 1 (1): 1-3. DOI:

Abstract ( 1602 )

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The four topics are described including the driving force and source of the scientific and technological creation, the definition and history of the bionics, the important significance of bionics in the development of the human beings, and the leading edge and progress of bionics. The appetency of human for the creation is the essential motivity of the innovation in science and technology. Nature and society are the objects for us to cognize and serve, meanwhile, the best teachers for us to learn from them. It is only 5 million years for human's development, but evolution of lif e has over 3.5 billion years history. Although, copying the creation from the human being is important, however, it has much more potential and opportunity in imitating the nature, and more possibility to promote the ability of original innovation. The significance and progress of bionics are summarized, in this paper, and the leading edges of bionics, in the near future, are forecasted.

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Dynamics of Drying in Phenolically Tanned Materials

Julian F.V.Vincent

J4. 2004, 1 (1): 4-8. DOI:

Abstract ( 1232 )

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The cuticle of a maggot goes through a mechanical transition when it dries, increasing in stiffness by about an order of magnitude (e.g. from 0.5 GPa to 5 GPa) as the water content drops from about 1 g/g (weight of water perunit dry weight ) to 0.4 g/g. Thus stiffness represents the loss of freezable water and is more or less diagnostic of a material stabilized by hydrogen bonds. Further loss in water results in a smaller increase in stiffness. In natural systems the water content is controlled by the addition of phenolic residues, resulting in tanning or sclerotisation, which drives the matrix components towards cooperative in teraction and makes the material permanently waterproof.

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Design Principles of the Non-smooth Surface of Bionic Plow Moldboard

Luquan Ren, Shiqiao Deng, Jingchun Wang, Zhiwu Han

J4. 2004, 1 (1): 9-19. DOI:

Abstract ( 1632 )

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The diverse non-smooth body surfaces to reduce soil adhesion are the evolutional results for the soil animals to fit the adhesive and wet environment and can be used as a biological basis for the design of bionic plow moldboard. The model surfaces for bionic simulation should be taken from soil animal digging organs, on which the soil motion is similar to what is on the surface of moldboard. By analyzing the distribution of non-smooth units on the body surface of the ground beetle jaw and the soil moving stresses, the design principles of the bionic moldboard for the local and the whole moldboard were presented respectively. As well, the effect of soil moving speed on reducing adhesion, the dimensions relationship between soil particles and non-smooth convexes, the relationship between the enveloping surface of non-smooth convexes and the initial smooth surface of the plow body, and the convex types of the sphere coronal and the pangolin scales, etc. were discussed.

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3D Modelling of Biological Systems for Biomimetics

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J4. 2004, 1 (1): 20-40. DOI:

Abstract ( 1204 )

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With the advanced development of computer-based enabling technologies, many engineering, medical, biology, chemistry, physics and food science etc have developed to the unprecedented levels, which lead to many research and development interests in various multi-discipline areas. Among them, biomimetics is one of the most promising and attractive branches of study. Biomimetics is a branch of study that uses biological systems as a model to develop synthetic systems. To learn from nature, one of the fundamental issues is to understand the natural systems such animals, insects, plants and human beings etc. The geometrical characterization and representation of natural systems is an important fundamental work for biomimetics research. 3D modeling plays a key role in the geometrical characterization and representation, especially in computer graphical visualization. This paper firstly presents the typical procedure of 3D modelling methods and then reviews the previous work of 3D geometrical modelling techniques and systems developed for industrial, medical and animation applications. Especially the paper discusses the problems associated with the existing techniques and system s when they are applied to 3D modelling of biological systems. Based upon the discussions, the paper proposes some areas of research interests in 3D modelling o f biological systems and for Biomimetics.

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Measurement on Camber Deformation of Wings of Free-flying Dragonflies and Beating-flying Dragonflies

Deqiang Song ^1,2, Lijiang Zeng ¹

J4. 2004, 1 (1): 41-45. DOI:

Abstract ( 1255 )

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The knowledge of wing orientation and deformation during flapping flight is necessary for a complete aerodynamic analysis, but to date those kinematic features have not been simultaneously quantified for free-flying insects. A projected comb-fringe (PCF) method has been developed for measuring spanwise camber changes on free-flying dragonflies and on beating-flying dragonflies through the course of a wingbeat, which bases on projecting a fringe pattern over the whole measurement area and then measuring the wing deformation from the distorted fringe pattern. Experimental results demonstrate substantial camber changes both along the wingspan and through the course of a wingbeat. The ratio of camber deformation to chord length for hind wing is up to 0.11 at 75% spanwise with a flapping angle of -0.66 degree for a free-flying dragonfly.

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The Concept of Electroosmotically Driven Flow and its Application to Biomimetics

Y.Y.Yan, J.B.Hull

J4. 2004, 1 (1): 46-52. DOI:

Abstract ( 2005 )

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The concept of electroosmotically driven flow is built around understanding how the ionized particles or fluid are driven to flow by electroosmosis forces. Apart from the major applications of this concept to micro flow control elements which have been explored in parallel with the rapid developments in micro fabrication technologies, the present focus is on its application to biomimetics. As soil animals (in fact all living creatures) such as earthworms and dung beetles carry bioelectricity, the relative movement between the creatures and the surrounding soil which is a multi-component medium with moist content will generate electrophoresis or electroosmosis forces. Such forces drive the ionized moist content, normally water, to migrate from positive to negative poles under the action of electric double layer (EDL) effect, and effectively reduce the adhesion or drag. Predicting the electroosmotically driven flow in the vicinity of biological and animal surfaces is a key problem of drag/adhesion reduction and biomimetics design. The aim of this article is to demonstrate how the theory of electroosmotically driven flow has developed and to describe its broader significance foranti adhesion of soil animals and biomimetics design of soil machinery tools.

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Restudies on Body Surface of Dung Beetle and Application of Its Bionics Flexible Technique

Jiurong Sun ¹, Jianqiao Li ², Hong Cheng ¹, Zhendong Dai ³, Luquan Ren ²

J4. 2004, 1 (1): 53-60. DOI:

Abstract ( 1476 )

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A scanning electron microscope was used to observe the structures of the setae o n the surface of a dung beetle Coprisochus, Motschulsky. There are lots of seta e on the body surface, especially on the ventral part surface and lateral to the legs which are different in size, arrangement and shape. These setae have different lengths and many thorns on the whole seta. The top ends of these setae stand up without furcations which direct uprightly towards the surface of the touched soil. By the method of removing these setae, getting the insect weigh t before and after digging into the dung we affirm farther that the setae on the beetle body surface form the anti-stick and non-adherent gentle interface. The soil machines and components made by imitating the gentle body surface of beetle s have favorable non-adherent results.

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Positive Effect of Noises on Sensory Systems

Jun Liu, Guang Li

J4. 2004, 1 (1): 61-65. DOI:

Abstract ( 1295 )

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Stochastic resonance phenomenon in the biological sensory systems has been studied through the signal detection theories and the psychophysical experiments. In this paper, sensory systems are considered as a threshold detector including the receiver part and the classifier part. Compared with conventional models regarding the receiver part of sensory system as a linear or single non-linear system, a summing network was constructed by MacCulloch-Pitts neurons to simulate the receiver part. The simulation results show that the relevant index of the detectability of signal exhibit the stochastic resonance behaviours. The psychophysical experiments were carried out through the 2IFC (two interval two alter native forced choice) method. The experimental results qualitatively verify the conclusion in accordance with the theoretical model. These works give a proof that stochastic resonance is not only epiphenonmenon in sensory systems.

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A Study on Adhesive Properties of Materials Based on Biomimetic Results of Gecko's Feet

Hao Zhang ¹, Zhendong Dai ^1,2, Stanislav Gorb ^2,3

J4. 2004, 1 (1): 66-71. DOI:

Abstract ( 1419 )

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Many animals have a magic ability to move or hold on ceilings and walls because of the design of their adhesive pads. The experiments were carried out to study the effects of material properties (elastic modulus EM and chemical components CC) and contact geometry (surface roughness, connecting stiffness) on their adhesive properties. The adhesion of the lowest EM samples is the highest (15 kPa) and the surface roughness has strong effects on adhesion and the adhesion decreases to 1.5 kPa for the highest EM samples. The adhesive forces are heavily influenced by CC of polyurethane. Surface roughness heavily influences the adhesion and when the roughness is higher than Ra 0.3 μm, the obtained adhesion of the samples is the same. The adhesion does not change with the normal forces when a sphere is used to contact with flat PU samples. But when the two matually contact surfaces are flat, the adhesion of a material increases with the normal load at first and then turns to slightly raise. The adhesion of them is the same for the contact angles from 1 to 3 degree when the samples are softly connected. But when they are adhesive hardly to each other the adhesion decreases with increase of the contact angle.

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Gabor Filter Optimization Design for Iris Texture Analysis

Tao Xu ¹, Xing Ming ², Xiaoguang Yang ³

J4. 2004, 1 (1): 72-78. DOI:

Abstract ( 1634 )

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This paper deals with an optimization design method for the Gabor filters based on the analysis of an iris texture model. By means of analyzing the properties of an iris texture image, the energy distributi on regularity of the iris texture image measured by the average power spectrum density is exploited, and the theoretical ranges of the efficient valued frequency and orientation parameters can also be deduced. The analysis shows that the energy distribution of the iris texture is generally centralized around lower frequencies in the spatial frequency domain. Accordingly, an iterative algorithm is designed to optimize the Gabor parameter field. The experimental results indicate the validity of the theory and efficiency of the algorithm.

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