Knowledge transfer from biologists to engineers is one of the main obstacles to the diffusion of biomimetic. An approach to overcome this obstacle is presented and discussed. This approach is based on a construct to describe high-level engineering functions stored in a relational database together with a species grouping based on a functional classification, the corresponding biological solutions and the ‘official’ taxonomy.\ud Several relationships among the keys allow extracting and organising the stored knowledge both from the engineering and from the biological point of view. An engineer can extract from this database all the biological solutions of a function formulated in the ‘engineer’s language’, and then determine the more suitable solution for his/her specific problem

Today, a clear and efficient communication requires a large use of graphical and pictorial signs, which are used in place of a text. In fact, the use of the text in the communication leads to comprehension problems to the reader in several daily situations. An example could be the case of the road signs. The road signs represent an application of technical communication with the aim of transmitting some contents by means of a system of signs, graphical symbols, and alphanumerical characters. The problem considered in this study is linked to the textual messages, generally placed below the road signs, which are written in a specific language. Adding texts to the road signs can lead to the reduction of their comprehension, especially for foreign drivers and/or pedestrians, and could require a time for reading them, which is incompatible with the traffic requirements. In the current situation, where we are having an increase of business and leisure trips, and with a more and more multiethnic society, the urgency of this issue has become more important. All these cases often present language issues. This article, therefore, aims at proposing a general method useful to "translate" the texts written below the road signs into graphical forms. The starting point of this idea is that the graphical language can be a universal communication form, able to overcome the language and the cultural differences

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The series Research for Development serves as a vehicle for the presentation and dissemination of complex research and multidisciplinary projects. The published work is dedicated to fostering a high degree of innovation and to the sophisticated demonstration of new techniques or methods. The aim of the Research for Development series is to promote well-balanced sustainable growth. This might take the form of measurable social and economic outcomes, in addition to environmental benefits, or improved efficiency in the use of resources; it might also involve an original mix of intervention schemes. Research for Development focuses on the following topics and disciplines: Urban regeneration and infrastructure, Info-mobility, transport, and logistics, Environment and the land, Cultural heritage and landscape, Energy, Innovation in processes and technologies, Applications of chemistry, materials, and nanotechnologies, Material science and biotechnology solutions, Physics results and related applications and aerospace, Ongoing training and continuing education. Fondazione Politecnico di Milano collaborates as a special co-partner in this series by suggesting themes and evaluating proposals for new volumes. Research for Development addresses researchers, advanced graduate students, and policy and decision-makers around the world in government, industry, and civil society.