Bionics is the application of biological methods and systems found in nature to

the study and design of engineering systems and modern technology.

Examples of bionics in engineering include the hulls of boats imitating the thic
k skin of dolphins; sonar, radar, and medical ultrasound imaging imitating anima
l echolocation.
In the field of computer science, the study of bionics has produced artificial n
eurons, artificial neural networks,[2] and swarm intelligence. Evolutionary comp
utation was also motivated by bionics ideas but it took the idea further by simu
lating evolution in silico and producing well-optimized solutions that had never
appeared in nature.
In medicine[edit]
Bionics is a term which refers to the flow of concepts from biology to engineeri
ng and vice versa. Hence, there are two slightly different points of view regard
ing the meaning of the word.
In medicine, bionics means the replacement or enhancement of organs or other bod
y parts by mechanical versions. Bionic implants differ from mere prostheses by m
imicking the original function very closely, or even surpassing it.
Bionics' German equivalent, Bionik, always adheres to the broader meaning, in th
at it tries to develop engineering solutions from biological models. This approa
ch is motivated by the fact that biological solutions will usually be optimized
by evolutionary forces.
While the technologies that make bionic implants possible are still in infancy,
a few bionic items already exist, the best known being the cochlear implant, a d
evice for deaf people. By 2004 fully functional artificial hearts were developed
. Significant progress is expected with the advent of nanotechnology. A well-kno
wn example of a proposed nanodevice is a respirocyte, an artificial red cell, de
signed (though not built yet) by Robert Freitas.
Kwabena Boahen from Ghana was a professor in the Department of Bioengineering at
the University of Pennsylvania. During his eight years at Penn, he developed a
silicon retina that was able to process images in the same manner as a living re
tina. He confirmed the results by comparing the electrical signals from his sili
con retina to the electrical signals produced by a salamander eye while the two
retinas were looking at the same image.
In 2007 the Scottish company Touch Bionics launched the first commercially avail
able bionic hand, named "i-Limb Hand". According to the firm, by May 2010 it has
been fitted to more than 1,200 patients worldwide.[15]
The Nichi-In group is working on biomimicking scaffolds in tissue engineering, s
tem cells and regenerative medicine have given a detailed classification on biom
imetics in medicine.[16]
On 21 July 2015, the BBC s medical correspondent Fergus Walsh reported, "Surgeons
in Manchester have performed the first bionic eye implant in a patient with the
most common cause of sight loss in the developed world. Ray Flynn, 80, has dry a
ge-related macular degeneration which has led to the total loss of his central v
ision. He is using a retinal implant which converts video images from a miniatur
e video camera worn on his glasses. He can now make out the direction of white l
ines on a computer screen using the retinal implant." The implant, known as the
Argus II and manufactured in the US by the company Second Sight Medical Products
, had been used previously in patients who were blind as the result of the rare
inherited degenerative eye disease retinitis pigmentosa.[17]
Politics[edit]
A political form of biomimicry is bioregional democracy, wherein political borde
rs conform to natural ecoregions rather than human cultures or the outcomes of p

rior conflicts.
Critics of these approaches often argue that ecological selection itself is a po
or model of minimizing manufacturing complexity or conflict, and that the free m
arket relies on conscious cooperation, agreement, and standards as much as on ef
ficiency
more analogous to sexual selection. Charles Darwin himself contended th
at both were balanced in natural selection
although his contemporaries often avo
ided frank talk about sex, or any suggestion that free market success was based
on persuasion, not value.
Advocates, especially in the anti-globalization movement, argue that the matinglike processes of standardization, financing and marketing, are already examples
of runaway evolution
rendering a system that appeals to the consumer but which
is inefficient at use of energy and raw materials. Biomimicry, they argue, is an
effective strategy to restore basic efficiency.
Biomimicry is also the second principle of Natural Capitalism.
Other uses[edit]
Business biomimetics is the latest development in the application of biomimetics
. Specifically it applies principles and practice from biological systems to bus
iness strategy, process, organisation design and strategic thinking. It has been
successfully used by a range of industries in FMCG, defence, central government
, packaging and business services. Based on the work by Phil Richardson at the U
niversity of Bath[18] the approach was launched at the House of Lords in May 200
9.
In a more specific meaning, it is a creativity technique that tries to use biolo
gical prototypes to get ideas for engineering solutions. This approach is motiva
ted by the fact that biological organisms and their organs have been well optimi
zed by evolution. In chemistry, a biomimetic synthesis is a chemical synthesis i
nspired by biochemical processes.
Another, more recent meaning of the term bionics refers to merging organism and
machine. This approach results in a hybrid system combining biological and engin
eering parts, which can also be referred as a cybernetic organism (cyborg). Prac
tical realization of this was demonstrated in Kevin Warwick's implant experiment
s bringing about ultrasound input via his own nervous system.