DESIGN EXAMPLES IN INSECTS

Insects and Robot Technology

It is not only architects who benefit from study of the creation. The engineers who developed robot technologies examined insects for inspiration. Robots constructed upon the model of insect legs prove to stand with better equilibrium. When suction pads are installed on the feet of these robots, they can climb walls just like flies. A particular robot constructed by a Japanese corporation can walk on the ceiling just like an insect. The corporation utilises this robot to inspect under bridges by means of sensors attached to its body.45
The American army has been known to be exploring micro machines for a long time. According to Professor Johannes Smith, a motor smaller than 0.039 inch (one millimetre) can drive a robot the size of an ant. A robot such as this is under consideration for use in a small army of ant-like robots in order to penetrate behind enemy lines undetected and damage jet engines, radars and computer terminals. Two of Japan's largest industrial corporations, Mitsubishi and Matsushita, have already taken the first steps in collaborating on the subject. The outcome of this collaboration is a minute robot weighing 0.015 ounce (0.42 gram) and walking 13 feet (4 metres) a minute.

From an Insect to a Modern Train Station In 1987, French politicians commissioned the architect Santiago Calatrava to design Lyon-Satolas, the station for the TGV super fast train. They aimed at expressing the structure of the station in a way which would make it a glamorous, attractive and landmark symbol. Concrete columns support this dinosaur rib-cage like structure, the inspiration for which comes from an insect. Green and blue lights that could easily be found on an insect's shell highlight the structure. Since the grand opening in July 1994, the station has been recognised as a masterpiece.