Woodpeckers minimize cranial absorption of shocks

Wassenbergh, Sam Van; Ortlieb, Erica J.; Mielke, Maja; Shadwick, Robert E.; Abourachid, Anick

doi:10.1016/j.cub.2022.05.052

Cited by 17 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 32 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…A very good example is the woodpecker, as shown in Figure 17. When the woodpecker strikes an object with its beak, the immense force at the tip is cushioned by its beak structure and the resilient hyoid bone [255,256]. Consequently, the impact's stress is significantly diminished from the beak's tip to where it connects with the skull, reducing the force that reaches the bird's cranium.…”

Section: Bioinspired Structures For Impact or Energy Absorptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bioinspired and Multifunctional Tribological Materials for Sliding, Erosive, Machining, and Energy-Absorbing Conditions: A Review

Kumar,

Rezapourian,

Rahmani

et al. 2024

Biomimetics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Friction, wear, and the consequent energy dissipation pose significant challenges in systems with moving components, spanning various domains, including nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS/MEMS) and bio-MEMS (microrobots), hip prostheses (biomaterials), offshore wind and hydro turbines, space vehicles, solar mirrors for photovoltaics, triboelectric generators, etc. Nature-inspired bionic surfaces offer valuable examples of effective texturing strategies, encompassing various geometric and topological approaches tailored to mitigate frictional effects and related functionalities in various scenarios. By employing biomimetic surface modifications, for example, roughness tailoring, multifunctionality of the system can be generated to efficiently reduce friction and wear, enhance load-bearing capacity, improve self-adaptiveness in different environments, improve chemical interactions, facilitate biological interactions, etc. However, the full potential of bioinspired texturing remains untapped due to the limited mechanistic understanding of functional aspects in tribological/biotribological settings. The current review extends to surface engineering and provides a comprehensive and critical assessment of bioinspired texturing that exhibits sustainable synergy between tribology and biology. The successful evolving examples from nature for surface/tribological solutions that can efficiently solve complex tribological problems in both dry and lubricated contact situations are comprehensively discussed. The review encompasses four major wear conditions: sliding, solid-particle erosion, machining or cutting, and impact (energy absorbing). Furthermore, it explores how topographies and their design parameters can provide tailored responses (multifunctionality) under specified tribological conditions. Additionally, an interdisciplinary perspective on the future potential of bioinspired materials and structures with enhanced wear resistance is presented.

show abstract

Section: Bioinspired Structures For Impact or Energy Absorptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bioinspired and Multifunctional Tribological Materials for Sliding, Erosive, Machining, and Energy-Absorbing Conditions: A Review

Kumar,

Rezapourian,

Rahmani

et al. 2024

Biomimetics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…One of the emerging biomimetic technologies that claims to replicate the woodpecker's mechanism is known as the 'Q-collar' (https://q30.com/), a collar worn around the neck which serves to compress the jugular veins. Although based on the erroneous understanding of how woodpeckers actually avoid cranial damage [61,62], the 'Q-collar' is seen as a 'revolutionary approach to protecting the brain […] by mimicking the natural defense used by woodpeckers' [63] and has captured a significant amount of attention from the media, sports industry and scientific community [59]. What is often unmentioned is that getting the 'Q-collar' to the market, and testing its safety, required the sacrifice of a substantial number of experimental animals, first rats [64], then pigs [65], which all suffered experimentally-induced brain trauma while fitted with collars.…”

Section: The Value Of Nature and Practices Of Animal Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biomimethics: a critical perspective on the ethical implications of biomimetics in technological innovation

Broeckhoven

Winters

2023

Bioinspir. Biomim.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Biomimetics, bioinspiration, biomimicry, and related nature-inspired activities – collectively known as biom* – are witnessing an unprecedented surge in popularity, as they offer unparalleled opportunities for technological advancement, innovation, and sustainable development. The growing prevalence of biom*, however, has sparked moral debates regarding their approaches, emphasizing the need for universally applicable ethical guidelines that can effectively guide practitioners in their work. In this Perspective, we outline some of the moral, ethical, and legal challenges associated with biom*, particularly the scientific discipline of biomimetics, focusing on various issues surrounding our motivations for pursuing these approaches, the valuation of nature within them, and regulations in the commercialization of biological knowledge. By highlighting the challenges inherent in biom*, this Perspective aims to empower practitioners in the field to make informed decisions and take purposeful action. Specific recommendations are provided to guide them in choosing the right course of action for the right reasons.

show abstract

“…Excavating nesting hollows in trees is a specialized behaviour that is a particularly demanding task because it requires the bill to withstand a range of compressive and shearing mechanical stresses in order to avoid structural failure [9]. Consequently, cavity-excavating birds such as woodpeckers possess a suite of morphological and anatomical features that putatively improve their resistance to stresses experienced during cavity excavation [9][10][11][12][13]. However, the role of bill geometry in dissipating excavation stresses still remains poorly understood, which necessitates a comparative analysis of excavation performance across a range of bill shapes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bill shape imposes biomechanical tradeoffs in cavity-excavating birds

2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Organisms are subject to physical forces that influence morphological evolution. Birds use their bills as implements to perform various functions, each exerting unique physical demands. When excavating cavities, bird bills must resist a range of mechanical stresses to prevent fracture. However, the contribution of bill geometry and material composition to excavation stress resistance remains poorly understood. Here, we study the biomechanical consequences of bill diversification in the cavity-excavating palaeotropical barbets. Using finite-element models and beam theory, we compare excavation performance for two loading regimes experienced by barbet bills during cavity excavation: impact and torsion. We find that deeper and wider maxillae perform better for impact loads than for torsional loads, with the converse for narrower maxillae. This results in tradeoffs between impact and torsion resistance imposed by bill geometry. Analytical beam models validate this prediction, showing that this relationship holds even when maxillae are simplified to solid elliptical beams. Finally, we find that composite bill structures broadly exhibit lower stresses than homogeneous structures of the same geometry, indicating a functional synergy between the keratinous rhamphotheca and bony layers of the bill. Overall, our findings demonstrate the strong link between morphological evolution, behaviour and functional performance in organisms.

show abstract

Woodpeckers minimize cranial absorption of shocks

Cited by 17 publications

References 32 publications

Bioinspired and Multifunctional Tribological Materials for Sliding, Erosive, Machining, and Energy-Absorbing Conditions: A Review

Bioinspired and Multifunctional Tribological Materials for Sliding, Erosive, Machining, and Energy-Absorbing Conditions: A Review

Biomimethics: a critical perspective on the ethical implications of biomimetics in technological innovation

Bill shape imposes biomechanical tradeoffs in cavity-excavating birds

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About