The network

The "Competence Network Biomimetics" is a network the members of which are engaged in the systematic translation of problem solutions of nature into technical applications (biomimetics). The network's supporters are the Universities of Freiburg, Tübingen, and Stuttgart, the Institute of Textile Technology and Process Engineering in Denkendorf, the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and the State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart. The network is funded by the Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts of Baden-Württemberg.

Main activities

The Competence Network Biomimetics in Baden-Wuerttemberg is a forum for scientists of various disciplines and for partners from business and industry, to enable the joint development of innovative products and technologies. Due to the interdisciplinarity of its active members and the current R&D projects, the transfer of research results into technical products along the whole value chain is guaranteed.

Main activities:

• Consulting to industry and scientists in the context of national and international R&D projects

• Seminars for the industry and workshops

• Public relations

• Teaching, training, and continuing education in biomimetics for students of all disciplines

• National and international conventions

The technological focus

The Competence Network Biomimetics is a platform for scientists of various disciplines and for partners from industry and business, making the joint development of innovative products and technologies possible. The "Centre for Biomimetics Research" and the "Centre for Biomimetic Innovations for Industry" were established for this purpose. Due to the interdisciplinary character of its active members and the current R&D projects, a transfer of research results into technical products along the complete value chain is guaranteed. Core competencies in the field of biomimetics are:

Research and Development

• form-structure-function relationships in plants, animals, and plant-animal-interactions
• mechanical testing and technical biology
• surfaces and interfaces
• lightweight construction and materials
• optimisation
• fluid dynamics
• energy
• fibre-based materials and composite materials
• architecture
• transfer into technical applications on laboratory and pilot plant scale, and scaling up to industrial level

Services

• consultancy for scientists and industry
• project management
• industry workshops, creative workshops and conferences
• expert database on biomimetics
• public relations
• education, further training, and on-the-job training

Highlights

As a particularly innovative scientific discipline with excellent future prospects, biomimetics is attracting ever more attention nationally and internationally. In Baden-Württemberg it is now represented by outstanding institutions. Biomimetics, or "learning from nature" involves the transfer of knowledge and technology from basic biological research to innovative technical products and processes. Plants and animals have increasingly turned out to be a treasure trove of biomimetic innovations with a diversity developed in the evolutionary process over the last 3.8 billion years.