Bionics

(CC) Photo: Graham Karslake
A barn owl in flight — a natural model for technical flight.

Bionics is a subfield of both science and [[engineering‘‘, concerned with the systematic study of biological structures and processes to the end of applying these principles in technical design. Many aspects of the shape, skeleton and skin of human-made vehicles for locomotion in air or water have been improved this way, while bionics also played a role in the invention of hook-and-loop fasteners and in the construction of highly water-repellent surfaces.