**1. Introduction**

Design methodologies are essential tools in the design process which provide pathways, goals and technical guidelines for the development of products. These are also critical to minimize the risks and the time of the development process of a product (Kindlein et al., 2003). It should, how‐ ever, be noted that the use of a method of design for the development of the product does not in itself create or guarantee the success of a product, as this will be subject to a myriad of factors in‐ cluding the level of technical expertise and creativity of who makes use of the method. Previ‐ ous work by Versos and Coelho (2011-a, 2011-b, 2010) and by Coelho and Versos (2011, 2010) analyzed and compared several methods for guiding bionic design that were available in litera‐ ture. These analyses, in addition to providing the basis of study for the development of the meth‐ odology that is aimed in this chapter, can support designers in the selection process of the bionic design method most appropriate to the problem at hand. Previous work emphasized the neces‐ sity of integrating validation activities in bionic design processes. The development and testing of improved methods that provide greater support to designers in the pursuit of activities lead‐ ing to bionic solutions is the overarching aim that this chapter seeks to contribute to satisfy.

It is up to the designer to have control and decide upon the best option and way forward (Kin‐ dlein et al., 2003) in the design process. Thus, it is necessary to specify objectives, requirements and restrictions for the design process, as well as to present and define all possible paths in or‐ der to reduce the barriers for progression and to deal with the complexity inherent to the big number of variables involved in the course of the deployment of the method. Guiding the user towards requirements satisfaction and appropriate resolution of the problem at hand is the goal of any design method, including design methods with a bionic character.

As in Nature—an environment in constant adaptation and renewal, where species evolve systematically and only the strongest survive and become adapted to the environment—the planning and development of a product must also ensure an iterative nature of the process

© 2013 Versos and Coelho; licensee InTech. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2013 Versos and Coelho; licensee InTech. This is a paper distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2013 Versos and Coelho; licensee InTech. This is a paper distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

and constant reassessment of the design process. The means available to man and his own needs and ambitions are targets of constant change. Therefore, methods for developing a product should allow for continuous adjustment and restructuring.

**Steps Description**

problems.

identified.

mechanical behaviour.

the goals established.

project.

the bionic solution to the design problem (B).

performed in previous steps.

organization and principles of the solution.

from the analysis of the bionic solution.

definition of the biological solution and the problem.

C2 - Validation - Verification of compliance with the requirements of the problem and validating the gains

C3 - Detail and finish - Making technical drawings for construction, detailed descriptions of components, materials,

**Table 2.** Summarized description of the stages of the bionic design method developed following the orientation from

Tables 1 and 2 depict the sequential organization of the methodology, although iterations are possible between the various stages of each of the two directions of analysis considered. This iteration aims to enable refinement and optimization of the design with the right steps and facilitate the analogies between the natural functions of the solution and the desired functions of the problem. In the validation phase it is possible in the methodological process to go back to any previous step. Here the aim is to be able to change, correct or improve certain aspects, taking into account the needs identified through the results of the evaluation




A Bi-Directional Method for Bionic Design with Examples

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/53417

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introduced by the bionic concepts developed through the validation process of the

corresponding relationship between the requirements and objectives of the project to achieve

manufacturing processes and all the considerations necessary for the type and purpose of the

environmental aspects to be considered for subsequent association with properties extracted


B1 - Solution identification

solution

the solution

B4 - Search for a problem

B5 - Design brief and association principles

C1 - Generating concepts

B2 - Analysis of the

B3 - Reformulation of
