Of birds, bees, and airplanes: Technology can take lessons from nature on how to produce flying machines

摘要

Atiny monarch butterfly can migrate south 3000 kilometers to the grove of trees in central Mexico from which its great-great-grandparents started north some eight months earlier. It has the genetically-derived instinct to perform the mission without outside guidance, and the senses and intellect to navigate, adapt to meteorological conditions, and avoid predators. A giant airliner can perform a similar transportation task for hundreds of human travelers, using the structure and muscle of aeronautical engineering, and navigational mechanisms interacting with human management. Each of these flying creations represents an elegant design superbly adapted to its mission.