Nature has long been a source of inspiration for human innovation. But perhaps one of the most elegant examples of biomimicry comes from Japan’s high-speed rail system, where engineers found their solution in the most unexpected of places: the beak of a kingfisher. The other day, I stumbled across a YouTube video by Vox called “The world is poorly designed. But copying nature helps.”. This video shares this interesting history and development about Japan’s bullet trains.
While the train was already an impressive feat of engineering, reaching speeds of 170 miles per hour, it faced a significant challenge: noise pollution. The problem wasn’t just the general operation noise. It was the sonic boom created when the train exited tunnels, a disturbance that could be heard from 400 meters away.
Around 1989, Eiji Nakatsu was a birdwatcher who served as the general manager of technical development to tackle this challenge and redesign the train. Birdwatching and engineering sound world apart, but this unique hobby interestingly enough was the reason for one of the most ingenious engineering solutions in history. Nakatsu and his team of engineers drew inspiration from three different birds:
- The owl’s silent flight feathers influenced the pantograph (the connection to overhead electric wires)
- The Adelie penguin’s streamlined body shaped the supporting shaft design
- The kingfisher’s splash-free diving beak inspired the train’s nose cone
The results were remarkable: the new design was 10% faster, 15% more energy-efficient, and met all residential noise regulations.
According to Janine Benyus, who coined the term “biomimicry” in 1997, designers can learn from nature in three fundamental ways:
1. Form Mimicry: Copying nature’s shapes and structures, like creating self-cleaning surfaces inspired by lotus leaves
2. Process Mimicry: Adopting nature’s methods, such as using ant colony communication patterns to develop autonomous vehicle navigation systems
3. Ecosystem Mimicry: Replicating entire natural systems, particularly in developing circular economies where waste becomes a resource
The most exciting aspect of biomimicry is its potential to create a more sustainable world. By studying how natural ecosystems efficiently use and recycle resources, we can design cities and industrial processes that work in harmony with nature rather than against it.
The success of the bullet train redesign is a powerful reminder to us that sometimes the best innovations don’t come from reinventing the wheel, but from observing how nature has already solved similar challenges.
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