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The Natural Robotics Contest: crowdsourced biomimetic design
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This study described the Natural Robotics Contest, a science communication initiative that leverages public intuition about nature to crowdsource biomimetic robot designs, making robotics and engineering accessible to broader audiences.
Biomimetic and bioinspired design is not only a potent resource for roboticists looking to develop robust engineering systems or understand the natural world. It is also a uniquely accessible entry point into science and technology. Every person on Earth constantly interacts with nature, and most people have an intuitive sense of animal and plant behaviour, even without realizing it. The Natural Robotics Contest is novel piece of science communication that takes advantage of this intuition, and creates an opportunity for anyone with an interest in nature or robotics to submit their idea and have it turned into a real engineering system. In this paper we will discuss the competition's submissions, which show how the public thinks of nature as well as the problems people see as most pressing for engineers to solve. We will then show our design process from the winning submitted concept sketch through to functioning robot, to offer a case study in biomimetic robot design. The winning design is a robotic fish which uses gill structures to filter out microplastics. This was fabricated into an open source robot with a novel 3D printed gill design. By presenting the competition and the winning entry we hope to foster further interest in nature-inspired design, and increase the interplay between nature and engineering in the minds of readers.
More Papers Like This
The Natural Robotics Contest: Crowdsourced Biomimetic Design
AI summary Read the abstract
This paper describes the Natural Robotics Contest, a crowdsourced biomimetic design competition that allows the public to submit nature-inspired engineering concepts that are then fabricated into real systems. The winning design in the featured contest was a robotic fish using gill-inspired filter structures to collect microplastics from water, fabricated as an open-source robot with a novel 3D-printed gill mechanism. The authors discuss how public submissions reveal perceptions of pressing engineering challenges and the value of nature-inspired design for environmental problems including microplastic pollution.
From biodiversity to design: a phylogeny-aware, data-driven framework for biological model selection in bio-inspired design
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Scientists are building better tools to design technology inspired by nature—like filters that mimic how animals such as clams or barnacles naturally strain particles from water. This new framework helps engineers systematically pick the best animal or organism to copy from, using a scoring system based on available research, uniqueness, and evolutionary traits, rather than relying on guesswork. The researchers tested it specifically for designing microplastic filters, which could eventually help reduce the tiny plastic particles found in our water and food supply.
Trash Collection Gadget: A Multi-Purpose Design of Interactive and Portable Solution for Beach Cleanup
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This study designed and prototyped a playful robotic cleanup system with three components intended to collect beach litter while engaging families and children during visits. The device was conceived as an interactive educational tool that makes beach cleanup accessible and enjoyable for the public.
Sharing communication insights of the citizen science program Plastic Pirates—best practices from 7 years of engaging schoolchildren and teachers in plastic pollution research
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The Plastic Pirates citizen science program in Germany engaged schoolchildren and teachers in monitoring plastic pollution in rivers over seven years, and this paper shares the communication strategies that made the program work at scale. Effective participant recruitment, guidance, and feedback loops enabled the program to generate peer-reviewed scientific data while building environmental literacy. The lessons offer a replicable model for using citizen science to expand microplastic monitoring coverage beyond what professional researchers can achieve alone.
Mollusca Inspired Microplastic Removal Robot
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This engineering project designed and prototyped a solar-powered, mollusk-inspired robot capable of collecting microplastics from lake surfaces using remote control. The design incorporated sustainable energy and efficient skimming mechanisms inspired by filter-feeding mollusks, offering a more sustainable alternative to current plastic removal technologies that focus primarily on larger debris.
Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.