Biomimetics Applied to Centering in Microassembly

This paper describes the application of a biomimetic search method to develop Ideas for centering objects in microassembly. Biomimetics involves the imitation of biological phenomena to solve problems. An obstacle to the use of biomimetics in engineering is knowledge of biological phenomena that are relevant to the problem at hand. The method described here starts with an engineering problem, and then systematically searches for analogous biological phenomena using functional keywords. This method is illustrated by finding and using analogies for the problem of positioning and centering objects during microassembly. Relevant phenomena identified Involve microtubule organizing centers, photosystems, and retinal ganglion cells.