Meeting Abstract
Plants can move organs or organ parts (e.g. trap leaves, flower petals, seed capsules, roots) with a variety of actuation principles. In strong contrast to most animal motion principles, the motility in plants is achieved with the complete absence of nerves, muscles and real, i.e. localized, hinges. The motion timescales and modes of deformation at work are very diverse and have recently become a source of inspiration for the development of bioinspired compliant mechanisms, which are of great interest for various fields, e.g. micro-electromechanics, microfluidics, soft robotics, medical applications and architecture. We concisely summarize the procedures in such biomimetic approaches with the help of several examples from our own research and development projects. The work processes presented include basic biomechanical and functional-morphological investigations of fast and slow plant movements, the abstraction of working principles, simulations and the transfer into novel materials systems and products. A focus is laid on systems, which are directly triggered and powered by changes of environmental conditions (e.g. temperature, humidity). With the help of such autonomous and self-sufficient actuators, reduced electrical consumption and maintenance are envisaged, which are important aspects for future technologies.
