Justifying bio-inspired robotics research: A taxonomy of strategies

2026-05-19

AI Summary

This study addresses the lack of a systematic approach in current bio-inspired robotics research, which often leads to ambiguous design rationales and inconsistent evaluation criteria, thereby risking perceptions of superficiality or incompleteness. To remedy this, the work proposes the first comprehensive taxonomy of bio-inspired design motivations, developed through conceptual analysis and taxonomic methodology to systematically categorize and structure existing practices. The resulting framework clarifies the methodological foundations, potential contributions, and applicable boundaries of distinct bio-inspiration strategies. By providing researchers with a reusable argumentation toolkit and enabling funding agencies to assess project merit more rigorously, this framework enhances the methodological rigor and predictability of outcomes within the field.

Abstract

For most of human history, we have not thought systematically about how and why we incorporate aspects of the natural world into our designs. The lack of a systematic approach has resulted in inconsistencies in motivations and methods that make it difficult to predict or evaluate the success of bio-inspired design. This mismatch between expectations and results can lead to disappointment when a reader considers a bio-inspired design to be superficial, weak, or incomplete. This is especially true in the field of Robotics, in which similarity to a biological system might be the driving motivation for construction. In an effort to assist robotics researchers justify their specific bio-inspired approach and to assist funding program managers with discerning the value of different bio-inspired approaches, here we propose a taxonomy of motivations for bio-inspired design and describe the potential significant contributions that are likely to result from different approaches.

Problem

• bio-inspired robotics
• design justification
• taxonomy
• motivation
• systematic approach

Innovation

• bio-inspired robotics
• taxonomy
• design motivation
• systematic framework
• biological analogy