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Biomimetics
Special Issues
Bionic Engineering Materials and Structural Design
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Bionic Engineering Materials and Structural Design

A special issue of Biomimetics (ISSN 2313-7673). This special issue belongs to the section "Biomimetics of Materials and Structures".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2026 | Viewed by 3893

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Federica Ongaro

E-Mail
Guest Editor
Laboratory for Bio-Inspired, Bionic, Nano, Meta Materials & Mechanics, Department of Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering, University of Trento, 38123 Trento, Italy
Interests: mechanics of advanced materials; materials characterization; finite element method
Dr. Dapeng Wei

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Guest Editor
Chongqing Institute of Green and Intelligent Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chongqing 400714, China
Interests: flexible electronic materials and devices; skin-inspired sensors; carbon-based sensors; artificial muscle
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce this Special Issue of Biomimetics, titled “Bionic Engineering Materials and Structural Design”. Introduced by Jack E. Steele in 1958 and officially used by a group of physicists, engineers, biologists, biophysicists, and psychiatrists attending a conference in Ohio, bionics is a field of engineering that applies biological design principles to the development of innovative engineering solutions for addressing today’s needs, which often demand effectiveness in terms of energy consumption and material use. Also known as biomimetics, bionics is a highly interdisciplinary research discipline involving biology, engineering, mathematics, physics, chemistry, and architecture, to cite a few. This “collaboration”, which is characterized by a large overlap between the different fields, provides a new approach for the synthesis of novel and improved structural and functional materials, as well as inspiration for innovative structural designs. Starting from the invention of Velcro in 1950, which is the first development linked to biomimetics, countless examples of bioinspired materials and structural designs can be currently found in a wide range of engineering fields, such as civil engineering, transportation, nuclear reactors, aerospace, medicine, and electronics. Among them, the often-quoted honeycomb panels inspired by beehive structures, characterized by exceptional energy-absorption capabilities and a high strength-to-weight ratio, and the thin-shell panels inspired by seashells adopt curved surfaces to improve load-bearing capacity with minimum material usage. Surface treatments to induce non-wetting, superhydrophobicity, and self-cleaning are more examples of biomimetics, directly mimicking the so-called “lotus effect” of the lotus leaves. This effect, if used in technological applications, leads to self-cleaning windows, paints, roof tiles, and textiles, to cite a few. Additional examples of structural designs inspired by nature are, for instance, the spiderweb-like cable structures of the Munich Olympic Stadium, combining excellent tensile properties at low weight, and the multi-award-winning Melbourne Council House 2, created by adopting termite mound concepts for achieving better efficiency in terms of the building’s water, gas, and electricity usage and CO2 emissions. Finally, the renewed Eiffel Tower in Paris, where hierarchical bone-like characteristics provide structural stability and shear wind resistance. However, advancements in bionic engineering are progressing rapidly, with the development of a more and more growing body of bioinspired materials and structural design ideas.

The aim of this Special Issue is to showcase the latest advancements in this field and shed light on original designs and cutting-edge applications.

We are pleased to invite contributions including, but not limited to, innovative materials designs (e.g., structural hierarchy and density gradient) and production techniques, structural design elements (e.g., incorporating tubular, Bouligand, thin-walled, sandwich, sutural, and/or fibrous structures), and eco-friendly strategies, all of them sharing the principle of “abstracting and transferring ideas from biology to technical applications”. The latter, in particular, could be related to a plethora of contexts spanning from civil engineering and architecture (e.g., bionic structural components such as sandwich plates, honeycomb beams, root-like geometries for enhancing stability and load distribution, and bionic building technologies based, among others, on energy-saving and eco-friendly strategies) to aerospace engineering and automotive (e.g., novel bionic design of aircraft wings, front structures of cars and trains, and protective armors), to cite a few.

We look forward to receiving your submissions, which can be in the form of original research articles or reviews.

Dr. Federica Ongaro
Dr. Dapeng Wei
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Biomimetics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • biomimetics
  • bionic engineering
  • bio-inspired materials
  • bionic structural design
  • lightweight components
  • energy efficiency
  • eco-friendly technologies

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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18 pages, 8716 KB  
Article
Nanomechanical and Optical Properties of Anti-Counterfeiting Nanostructures Obtained by Hydrogel Photoresist in Laser Processing
by Wei Wu, Qingxue Deng, Yuhang Shi and Jiyu Sun
Biomimetics 2025, 10(12), 829; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics10120829 - 11 Dec 2025
Viewed by 252
Abstract
The microstructures of living creatures are widely used in bionics, and some can generate structural colors on biological surfaces and enable the process of dynamic camouflage. This study presents the hydrogel photoresist synthesized by polymerizing HEMA and MMA in THF solvent with initiator [...] Read more.
The microstructures of living creatures are widely used in bionics, and some can generate structural colors on biological surfaces and enable the process of dynamic camouflage. This study presents the hydrogel photoresist synthesized by polymerizing HEMA and MMA in THF solvent with initiator AIBN. Then, nanostructured gratings were fabricated on the hydrogel photoresists via double-beam interference lithography, and were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, angle-resolved spectroscopy system, and nanoindentation for pattern characterization, and nanomechanical and optical performance, respectively. Under multi-angle incident light, the optical computation of gratings with different depths indicates that a shallow implicit grating does not affect its dynamic color-changing performance. It is established that the laser power of 500 mW, a first exposure time of 5 s, and a second exposure time of 3 s are feasible for achieving efficient anti-counterfeiting nanostructures. The L500-5-3 has greater Er and H than that of L500-5 with the second processing, but smaller than ineffective patterns. And the depth of anti-counterfeiting gratings that is less than 0.8 μm is conducive to obtaining anti-counterfeiting gratings with different size parameters. The acquired anti-counterfeiting nanostructures exhibit excellent stability, reliability, and angle-dependent color changes under room light, which provides promising applications for security materials in daily life, sensors, optics, and electronics. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bionic Engineering Materials and Structural Design)
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17 pages, 16406 KB  
Article
Loong: An Open-Source Platform for Full-Size Universal Humanoid Robot Toward Better Practicality
by Lei Jiang, Heng Zhang, Boyang Xing, Zhenjie Liang, Zeyuan Sun, Jingran Cheng, Song Zhou, Xu Song, Xinyue Li, Hai Zhou, Yongyao Li and Yufei Liu
Biomimetics 2025, 10(11), 745; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics10110745 - 5 Nov 2025
Viewed by 1733
Abstract
In recent years, humanoid robots have made substantial advances in motion control and multimodal interaction. However, full-size humanoid robots face significant technical challenges due to their inherent geometric and physical properties, leading to large inertia of humanoid robots and substantial driving forces. These [...] Read more.
In recent years, humanoid robots have made substantial advances in motion control and multimodal interaction. However, full-size humanoid robots face significant technical challenges due to their inherent geometric and physical properties, leading to large inertia of humanoid robots and substantial driving forces. These characteristics result in issues such as limited biomimetic capabilities, low control efficiency, and complex system integration, thereby restricting practical applications of full-size humanoid robots in real-world settings. To address these limitations, this paper incorporates a biomimetic design approach that draws inspiration from biological structures and movement mechanisms to enhance the robot’s human-like movements and overall efficiency. The platform introduced in this paper, Loong, is designed to overcome these challenges, offering a practically viable solution for full-size humanoid robots. The research team has innovatively used highly biomimetic joint designs to enhance Loong’s capacity for human-like movements and developed a multi-level control architecture along with a multi-master high-speed real-time communication mechanism that significantly improves its control efficiency. In addition, Loong incorporates a modular system integration strategy, which offers substantial advantages in mass production and maintenance, which improves its adaptability and practical utility for diverse operational environments. The biomimetic approach not only enhances Loong’s functionality but also enables it to perform better in complex and dynamic environments. To validate Loong’s design performance, extensive experimental tests were performed, which demonstrated the robot’s ability to traverse complex terrains such as 13 cm steps and 20° slopes and its competence in object manipulation and transportation. These innovations provide a new design paradigm for the development of full-size humanoid robots while laying a more compatible foundation for the development of hardware platforms for medium- and small-sized humanoid robots. This work makes a significant contribution to the practical deployment of humanoid robots. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bionic Engineering Materials and Structural Design)
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11 pages, 1595 KB  
Article
Enhancing Gait Symmetry via Intact Limb Kinematic Mapping Control of a Hip Disarticulation Prosthesis
by Shengli Luo, Xiaolong Shu, Jiahao Du, Hui Li and Hongliu Yu
Biomimetics 2025, 10(10), 714; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics10100714 - 21 Oct 2025
Viewed by 745
Abstract
Conventional hip disarticulation prostheses often require amputees to produce limited leg-lifting torque through exaggerated pelvic motion, resulting in complex control and pronounced gait abnormalities. To overcome the limitations, we present a mapping control strategy for a powered hip disarticulation prosthesis aimed at improving [...] Read more.
Conventional hip disarticulation prostheses often require amputees to produce limited leg-lifting torque through exaggerated pelvic motion, resulting in complex control and pronounced gait abnormalities. To overcome the limitations, we present a mapping control strategy for a powered hip disarticulation prosthesis aimed at improving gait symmetry. A quaternion-based method was implemented to capture hip joint kinematics, while a gated recurrent unit (GRU) neural network was trained to model the kinematic relationship between the intact and prosthetic limbs, enabling biomimetic trajectory control. Validation experiments showed that trajectory similarity between predicted and actual motions increased with walking speed, reaching 98.12% at 3.0 km/h. Comparative walking tests revealed an 84.00% improvement in hip flexion angle with the powered prosthesis over conventional designs. Notable improvements in gait symmetry were observed: stride symmetry (measured by SI and RII) improved by 23.21% and 19.28%, respectively, while hip trajectory symmetry increased by 68.07% (SI) and 47.59% (RII). These results confirm that the GRU-based kinematic mapping model offers robust trajectory prediction and that the powered prosthesis significantly enhances gait symmetry, delivering more natural and biomimetic motion. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bionic Engineering Materials and Structural Design)
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Review

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26 pages, 1315 KB  
Review
The Design of a Bioinspired Integrated Total Habitability Instrument for Planetary Exploration: A Review of Potential Sensing Technologies
by Karen Donaldson, Jonah Mack, Yuchen Shang, Ian Underwood and Charles Cockell
Biomimetics 2025, 10(11), 742; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics10110742 - 5 Nov 2025
Viewed by 754
Abstract
One key objective of astrobiology is to investigate and discover if other planetary bodies are habitable. The determination of whether an environment is habitable to known life requires measuring liquid water, CHNOPS elements, other nutrients, and energy supplies. Here we investigate the potential [...] Read more.
One key objective of astrobiology is to investigate and discover if other planetary bodies are habitable. The determination of whether an environment is habitable to known life requires measuring liquid water, CHNOPS elements, other nutrients, and energy supplies. Here we investigate the potential for a single instrument capable of sampling these key indicators: a ‘Total Habitability Instrument’. The proposed instrument would be capable of deployment in diverse environments and provide an integrated set of measurements that together allow for the assessment of the habitability of an environment of interest, such as those of the Moon or Mars. We explore existing and potential technological developments that would enable the construction of such an instrument, with a focus on soft systems, which are inspired by nature in their design, and microfluidics. This paper considers a multidisciplinary approach to the design and sensing requirements of a Total Habitability Instrument that would be capable of gathering and processing samples and be deployable by both robotic and human explorers on all planetary bodies, allowing for the mapping of habitability over large areas of our Solar System and beyond. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bionic Engineering Materials and Structural Design)
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