Our Process

Our Process:

There were three key steps to our process. Before anything, we started researching examples of biomimicry, to familiarize ourselves with the process. Each student researched different examples of innovation influenced by nature, and tried to apply these strategies to our own focus: flooding. Eventually, the group settled on using the mucin of a banana slug to absorb coastal water in some way.

After determining that our final product would involve mucin, the class split up into smaller factions to brainstorm ideas. The goal of this exercise was to discuss any idea we thought had potential, no matter how wild or technologically infeasible it seemed. Many ideas were put forth by each group, and the most realistic and beneficial ideas were brought back to the class as a whole.

Finally, using the ideas from the previous exercise, the group began to brainstorm ways in which these ideas could become reality. Sketches were made by each person, and our group voted on the best idea. Ultimately, we decided that our product would be in the form of a seawall, made up of mucin surrounded by a semipermeable membrane: The MuSea Wall.

Photos:

In the first photo below, are team is working on building a city model for our visual presentation. The city in the photo will be used to demonstrate the capabilities of MuSea Wall at the Biodesign summit. The second photo is a snapshot of a video taken, in which the capabilities of mucin are exhibited. In the video, water is absorbed by a substance with a similar consistency to the mucin of a banana slug.