In October 2001 we began a project, funded by EPSRC, the main goal of which was to make data from biology suitable for use in technology. We think that technology can greatly benefit from inclusion of solutions from the billions of years of evolution in the natural world. So, we decided to create a database of biological "inventions"
In industry and society a set of methods and procedures for making knowledge transfer between biology and engineering more reliable and manageable is urgently required. We consider that the most relevant technique to act as this bridge is the Russian method TRIZ - the acronym (in Russian) for Theory of Inventive Problem Solving. TRIZ was originally developed within engineering physics and chemistry describing mechanics, geometry, and electrical and chemical principles. More recent applications occurred in management, advertising and business consulting. However TRIZ developers mostly avoided the vast area of biology. This field comprises numerous subsets or levels, for example the biosphere, a landscape, biocenoses, populations, individuals, organ-systems, organs, tissues, cells, organelles, and so on. At the University of Bath, we are expanding the existing TRIZ framework to incorporate biological data and biomimetic thinking. All our efforts are leading to the design of a biological effects database and recipes for biomimetic invention.
You are welcome to try our DATABASE and to send your opinion to biotriz@bath.ac.uk.
As the result of our project::
- We have uncovered some important teleological issues (with respect to the purpose of actions) and epistemological issues, which have not previously been addressed by the TRIZ system (for more information, see this paper).
- Developed a recipe for knowledge transfer from biology to engineering
- On the basis of our synthesis between TRIZ and General System Theory, we designed a tool for facilitating innovation and present it in our workshops. If you wish to attend, please contact Ms. Anja-Karina Pahl <ensakp@bath.ac.uk>