In 1989, Japan’s Shinkansen Bullet Trains were tendered to go faster but they had a problem. They were fast but every time it exited a tunnel — it was loud. The noise was coming from a variety of sources. Whenever a train sped through the tunnel it compressed the air and pushed it through the other end creating a sonic boom. These deafening waves could be heard uptil 400 meters. An engineering team was set up to design quieter, faster and more efficient trains. Eiji Nakatsu, General Manager of the Technical Development Department, also a birdwatcher, led the team to redesign trains based on the aerodynamics of 3 birds — Owl, Penguin and Kingfisher. Nakatsu remodeled the pantograph by getting inspired from the owl’s feathers, reducing noise by using the same curvatures and indents. The Adelie Penguin whose body allows them to swim and slide effortlessly helped in restructuring the shaft of the pantograph. And most notable of all, the kingfisher’s beak inspired the train nose model. When the redesigned train was first run, it was 10% faster, used 15% less electricity and stayed under 70 dB noise limit in residential areas. Birds, the world’s best engineers, teaches us a lot about avian efficiency and redesigning principles of aircrafts and other technologies.
V-shaped Flying pattern There is a good reason some birds fly in a V. As birds flap, it creates a vortex of air which creates lift for trailing birds. Which means the bird can fly longer without getting tired. This is often considered as surfing, inspiring engineers to develop strategies to conserve fuel in aircrafts.
Bird Head Stabilization With a large number of vertebrae and muscles in their neck, birds can hold their head in a position even when their body is moving. This helps birds to focus on the predator and maneuver through complex terrains. By keeping their head stable, birds don’t have to rely alone on their eyes for image stabilization. Although Gaze Stabilization is complex and poorly understood, it has inspired modern steadicam technologies — Gimbal, Camera Stabilizer. As we will understand more about stabilization, we can develop better models.
Woodpecker and Shock Absorption Woodpeckers spiral through the tree trunks in search of insects. They peck at upto 20 times per second and create a force almost 10 times greater than what would cause concussion to humans. How do they do it? Scientists have discovered that a certain portion of their skull is soft and shock absorbent, which allows them to bear the energy they produce. Researchers are set out to develop artificial analogues to build mechanical shock absorbing systems to protect microelectronics. Also, these shock absorbing systems can protect spacecraft from the damage of collisions with small meteorites and space debris. Furthermore, sports equipment with shock absorbent property would be of incredible use.
Moreover, the lightweight interlaced mesh of feathers which have enabled birds to conquer gravity and take air in an extraordinary way; energy efficient Eagle’s Talon to pluck the prey, hovering technique of Hummingbird etc will help us develop and optimize technologies by biomimicking birds. Birdwatching can lead us to achieve modern marvels.