BioInspired! So What? Now What!

The Taxonomy is a classification system we developed to organize biological strategies by the functions they serve, such as: How does nature store water? Save energy? Protect from impact? We built it to organize the data in AskNature and make it easier to search. It’s our master reference tool designed for innovators like you.

One way to "ask nature" for design guidance is to break your challenges down into their fundamental functions—the specific outcomes your design needs to achieve. Identifying the function, "distribute liquids," for example, and then searching for those keywords on AskNature, will provide multiple potential solutions on how nature performs that function, which you can then apply to your own challenge.