Mainstream interest in biomimicry is accelerating. Jay Harman’s gives some (cautionary) insights into changing established large industries:
“When I started I thought that this would take 6 to 12 months,†Mr. Harman said. What he found instead were companies that had little interest in redesigning their products, even in the face of the promise of double-digit increases in efficiency.
His radical ideas have so far found a cautious reception in the aircraft, air- conditioning, boating, pump and wind turbine industries.
Mr. Harman’s experience is not unusual. Rather than beating a path to the door of mousetrap designers, the world seems to actively avoid them.