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Table 4.7 Man-made outcomes of inspiration from nature 4 : STEP TWO – GENERATING NEW IDEAS

Natural phenomenon Outcome of inspiration from nature

Human arm Anglepoise lamp

Swooping seagulls The Spitfire fighter aircraft

Human eye The Millennium Bridge in Newcastle, inspired by the
blinking of a human eye

Beetle eye Aircraft ground-speed altitude indicator

Humming bird Harrier Jump Jet

Hollow tube of rye grass Lemonade drinking straw, invented by Marvin Stone

Feline eye Catseye road markings

Patterns on moth wings US army camouflage

Bird feather Airbus aircraft wings

Pea pods Tube container for Pillsbury croissants

Rattlesnake temperature-sensing Guidance system for Sidewinder heat-seeking
organs missile

Bird’s nests New lining for furnaces – having considered how
birds use mud to line their nests, a product
development team decided on a clay lining for a new
furnace

mental workout six – upside-down thinking

Sometimes known by the shorthand of ‘reversals’, this technique turns
conventional logic upside down by reversing the direction of the issue
or assumption under consideration. Such reversals are helpful in
overcoming restrictions imposed by a fixed mind-set and conventional
ways of thinking, whether on behalf of individuals or of entire
industries.

Upside-down thinking is what translates a problem into an opportunity.
It is what allowed Ingvar Kamprad to transform the blocking measures of
the Swedish furniture retail and distribution cartel into an opportunity,
identifying new sources of supply, establishing his own out-of-town
distribution network and targeting a different market segment.

unable to see the wood for the trees The natural

temptation when you start to generate ideas is to dive right in and
attack a problem from a fixed and pre determined perspective. By
attacking problems head-on, it is all too easy to become too close to the
problem and find yourself unable to generate new perspectives.