Some animals and plants have special functions and structures. They are the result of biological evolution and Nature's ideas. The question to answer is how to use these biomimetic ideas to design the next generation of wave energy converters. In this paper, the characteristics of the existing wave energy converters are analysed using biomimetic ideas and then the design rules hidden in them are established. First, the characteristics of wave energy are introduced. Next, the state of the art and methods of energy extraction by the wave energy converters are analysed. Then based on the introduction of the biomimetic design knowledge, the biomimetic features, principles and characteristics of the wave energy converters are explained. Lastly the association rules hidden in the biological features and engineering features are mined based on the Apriori algorithm. These rules will assist the development of the next generation of biomimetic wave energy converters and provide future research trends.

Biomimetics and creatures could contribute to novel design inspiration for wave energy converters, as we have seen numerous examples in applications of other branches of engineering. However, the issue of how to obtain valuable biological entities, or bionic design cases, that could produce inspiration for novel designs, may be challenging for the designers of wave energy converters (WECs). This study carries out preliminary research on the acquisition of biological entities for designers, to obtain innovative bio-inspired ideas for designing novel WECs. In the proposed method, the first step is to draw out engineering terminologies based on the function, structure, and energy extraction principles of existing WECs. Then, by applying WordNet, candidate biological terminologies can be obtained. Next, using AskNature, along with manual selection and filtering, biological terminologies can be acquired. The last step is to use the biological terminologies to establish the reference biological entities, and to use the information and knowledge of these entities in the design of an innovative WEC. Using the proposed methodology, a novel WEC was conceived and verified.