Call to Action: Upcoming BID Community Projects

© Lim Jerry - Fotolia.com

The Algae Competition has been a fascinating exercise in what it takes to practice bio-inspired design.  Members have asked for other BID Community projects that are more manageable in terms of resource commitment.   The following two projects have the potential to deliver tangible value to designers.  They can be broken down into smaller sub-projects so that participants can better manage their involvement based on availability and interest.  It is expected that the composition of the project teams will change over time.

If you have any other projects you would like to see the BID Community initiate, please let me know.

          Thanks, Norbert 

 

The Life's Principles Game

Kamelia Mitevia taught children creative thinking from a biological perspective even before she heard about biomimicry.  Kamelia wants to explore the possibility of creating a web-based interactive game that facilitates a deeper understanding of the Life's Principles and their practical application.  Incorporating social and learning capabilities would allow the game to adapt, enriching the experience for all the players as they create novel connections and contribute examples.

The first step will be to form a team of BID Community members who will map out the objectives of the game.  What challenges are we giving players?  How do they overcome them?  How do we continue to make the game interesting over an extended period of time?  Do we want players to find problems that the Life's Principles might solve, apply the Life's Principles to existing problems, or use the Life's Principles to gain fresh insights into these problems?  What is the age group we are targeting or is the game applicable to a broad range of ages and expertise? 

If you are interested in helping to define the concept of the game, please contact Kamelia directly or use the Contact Us link at the bottom of the page.

 

Bio-Inspired Design Toolkit

The Algae Competition team set a goal of testing out existing BID tools/methods but ran into time constraints compounded by lack of familiarity and hands-on experience.  It was not always clear at what point in the design cycle a particular method was appropriate. 

This project will attempt to develop, document and support an integrated bio-inspired toolkit intended for designers.  The toolkit will incorporate both existing and new tools/methods.  The first step will be to gain consensus on the goals and characteristics of the toolkit.  What makes a tool or method useful to designers?  The second step will be to identify and assess existing tools/methods, leading to a gap analysis.  The third step will attempt to close these gaps.  This may involve providing designers access to tools, writing documentation and 'how-to' guides, as well as actual tool/method development.  The final step will provide designers with opportunities to use the tools and methods, both to assess their value and also to help designers build competence and confidence.

If you are interested in contributing to the first stage of the project (goals and characteristics), please contact Norbert directly or use the Contact Us link at the bottom of the page.

 

Image Credits:

4
Your rating: None Average: 4 (1 vote)
None
Login or register to tag items
randomness