Steve Cho, Kevin Hu WF Green Research Proposal

Biomimicry

a brief project overview

- mimicking Herculese beetle to develop stronger machines capable of lifting and carrying more than current machines

sufficient background information for everyone to understand your proposal

- the Herculese beetle possesses exceptional strength, even for an insect

- can lift 100+ X bodyweight, can walk with something 40X bodyweight without expending much more energy

- compared to other insects, which are commonly known to be strong, H beetle is far stronger

a statement of the research problem and goals

- current machines don’t even approach the strength of ants, much less the H beetle

- obviously, the whole size-scale thing plays a role, but it is still worth looking into why the H beetle is much stronger than other similarly sized or even smaller insects

- there must be something special about the way the H beetle is built that gives it its strength

- utilizing this could lead to strong and more efficient machinery for humans

project details and methods

- detailed full body scan of H beetle and then use computer simulations to find points of stress under various loads and how the beetle compensates for those stresses

- take live specimens and observe them under real life loads

- make machines based on what we find to replicate the strength and see how it compares to similar sized machines on traditional technology

predicted outcomes if everything goes according to plan and if nothing does

- if everything goes well: capable of large construction machines that can lift more than currently available

- better yet, could apply to make biomechanical limbs and armor suits capable of granting immense strength to wearers

- if nothing does: need to come up with a different way to mimic these beetles because it is definitely worth pursuing

needed resources to complete the work

- scanner machines, detailed observatory equipments

- beetles

- other insects as comparison