Biomimicry IS…
Learning from nature – Understanding the strategies, mechanisms and deep patterns used by Life to solve challenges in the wild, and applying that knowledge to our own designs.
All about function – Applying lessons learned at the form (shape), process and/or systems levels to achieve a function.
The ultimate sustainability and resiliency measure – Evaluating additional opportunities for each solution through the lens of Life’s deepest patterns (Nature’s Unifying Patterns or Life’s Principles – I’ll refer to Nature’s Unifying Patterns in this post since there is more information online about them; however, Life’s Principles provides a more detailed list).
Life-centered design – Making the conscious choice to solve problems in ways that benefit (not just don’t negatively impact) all species that interact with and are impacted by the design, including humans.
Biomimicry is NOT…
Using plants or animals to achieve a function (this is called bio-utilization, which is a very viable approach to solving many problems since plants and animals often are able to perform a task better than any technology we could invent…but it’s still not biomimicry).
Creating a technology (robot) that looks like an animal or plant.
Developing a bio-inspired technology without first understanding the context of the challenge and determining the best point of intervention in the system surrounding the challenge.