Recurring moving patterns in nature for a biomimetical optimization of autoreactive systems

Today, cheap technology and the exponential success of computer-controlled kinetic devices in architecture open up a wide range of new possibilities, increasing however the systems' dependence on energy, failing to exploit the true potential of ephemeralization. Simple devices can be designed to give autonomic kinetic response with zero energy input by integrating materials reacting to latent energy changes in the environment. Yet, the key to auto-reaction lies in the optimization of the system's design: the device must be fit enough to achieve the greatest movement with a minimal effort. This can be obtained by individuating the best combinations of geometrical factors, motion type, actuation and transmission through the biomimetic study of mobile patterns in nature, where many of these problems have found a solution through millions of years of evolutionary trial. The paper analyses three different complementary aspects describing motion, which have in the context of the biological systems evolved together. Each part consists of a brief definition of the principal parameters characterizing each specific feature, deduced from the observation of biological organisms, and a systematic classification of these aspects into categories. The first part considers the geometrical and morphological aspects connected to motion transmission. Bodyplan features reflect specific locomotory techniques which are strongly connected to the geometrical form of the elements: inertia, weight, energy absorption. In the second part, movement control together with actuation techniques are deepened, discussing a broad frame of design possibilities in matter of actuation, antagonism, control centers, and motion transmission mechanisms. The third part deepens the relationship between motion patterns and the proprieties of the media with which they come into contact. These three categories of investigation are successively compared and systematized to individuate recurring combination-patterns.