Evripidis Gkanias

Even as human-caused climate change threatens the environment, nature continues to inspire our technological advancement. “The solutions that are provided by nature have evolved for billions of years and tested repeatedly every day since the beginning of time,” said Evripidis Gkanias, a University of Edinburgh researcher. Gkanias has a special interest in how nature can educate artificial intelligence. “Human creativity might be fascinating, but it cannot reach nature’s robustness—and engineers know that,” he told AFP. From compasses mimicking insect eyes to forest fire-fighting robots that behave like vines, here’s a selection of this year’s nature-based technology. Insect compass Some insects—such as ants and bees—navigate visually based on the intensity and polarization of sunlight, thus using the sun’s position as a reference point. Researchers replicated their eye structure to construct a...