![]() ![]() The Undula Generator’s shape and design means it can maximise energy harvesting from wind even when closer to the ground. Usually, wind turbines have to be mounted on tall structures that face the wind head-on to harvest maximum energy. This is the forces that makes the structure undulate, just like the fins of a cuttlefish, which then rotates a generator to create power. When flowing water or mind passes over this fabric, it creates a drag force. The fabric stretched between the struts are what imitate the form and function of cuttlefish fins. It consists of unevenly spaced struts joined together with stretched pieces of fabric, attached to low poles. The Undual Generator looks very different to the bladed turbines we associate with the wind energy sector. It came up with a power generation device called the Undula Generator which is meant to replace the traditional turbines we use today to harvest wind energy. Undula Tech’s innovation is a prime example of how biomimicry can lead to advances in sustainable technologies. The startup Undula Tech has now translated these movements into a wind power-capturing device that won the 2019 Biomimicry Institute’s Global Design Challenge. Replicas of biological mechanisms often call for bio-based materials because their suppleness is able to mimic the pliability of living organisms that enables them to carry out complex functions.īelow, we look at how researchers are studying different cuttlefish body parts and applying them to sectors like renewable energy, robotics, and architecture.Ĭheaper wind-power through cuttlefish finsĬuttlefish, like rays or flatworms, use slow undulating motions through their muscles to move through water. Millions of years of natural selection often mean that animals are able to use resources efficiently in a number of surprising ways. Biomimicry is the practice of taking natural, evolved mechanisms found in ecosystems or organisms and replicating them artificially to solve problems in engineering and design.īy copying the elegant, energy-conserving efficiencies found in wildlife, biomimetic technologies often serve sustainability goals. These and other fascinating traits are inspiring a huge range of biomimetic technologies. Like many cephalopods, cuttlefish have skin pigments which change colour, allowing them to camouflage against any background to hide from prey, attract mates, and communicate with fellow cuttlefish. This group of intelligent marine creatures are not in fact fish, but rather molluscs that belong to the cephalopod class which include squid and octopus. The eight-armed, double-tentacled cuttlefish is a natural wonder of the deep.
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