Bio-Motifs: A Framework for the Design of Discrete Architected Materials and Structures Inspired by Nature

Despite the enormous potential of leveraging the rich information embedded in biological form, and the rising interest in bio-inspired design, there is no generalized, accessible computational design tool that enables it. This work seeks to identify the reasons for this gap and proposes a framework to address it. This framework consists of three pillars: (i) knowledge graphs, (ii) mathematical models, and (iii) data and information. Large Language Models and Machine Learning are proposed for integrating the three pillars of the framework into a software platform that is modular, interoperable, accessible, and results in manufacturable designed objects. This framework is proposed within the context of nine types of distinct architected materials, introduced here for the first time as “Bio-Motifs”, with examples from ongoing work shown to elucidate the underlying concepts. This work also identifies the key challenges with the aim of stimulating future work in the research community to tackle the open questions the proposed framework raises.