New Discovery in Insect Behavior May Spawn New Bonding Technologies

Scientists at the National Institute for Materials Science, an independent administrative institution in Japan, announced on November 9, 2010, that they discovered the mechanism behind an insect's foot grooming behavior which could be useful in developing bonding technologies that would achieve repeated "attachment and detachment."

The Hybrid Materials Center, a research unit at the institution, is researching and developing future bonding technologies that will enable repeated "attachment and detachment" to meet the demands of an increasingly recycling-oriented society. Insects walk by repeatedly attaching and detaching their feet on a surface. They are able to walk upside down on glass surfaces without falling because of the unique adhesive hairs on the soles of their feet. Focusing on this phenomenal adhesiveness, the institution teamed up with the Max Planck Institute in Germany to study the mechanism behind insect walking.

Researchers of the two institutions developed a nanomaterial processing technology that allowed them to control the roughness of a surface within nanometers. They created a surface with low friction and had insects walk on it. Insects such as beetles groom their feet when their feet get dirty but the mechanism of how they perceive the dirt was unknown. During the research, beetles groomed their feet even when they weren't dirty. This showed that beetles sense that their feet are dirty when friction between their feet and the surface decreases.

The results of their research will be applied to the research and development of new material functions based on a biomimetic approach, including bonding technologies that will be useful in waste material recycling.

Identifying Technologies that Learn from Nature -- Introducing the "JFS Biomimicry Project"
http://www.japanfs.org/en/mailmagazine/newsletter/pages/027785.html

Posted: 2011/05/26 06:00:15 AM