A keyword exploration based on a biomimetics ontology and linked data

Abstract

Biomimetics contributes to innovative engineering by imitating the models, systems, and elements of nature. Well-known examples of biomimetics include paint and cleaning technologies that imitate the water repellency of the lotus, adhesive tapes that imitate the adhesiveness of gecko feet, and high-speed swimsuits that imitate the low resistance of a shark’s skin. These results integrate studies on the biological mechanisms of organisms with engineering technologies to develop new materials. Facilitating such biomimetics-based innovations requires integrating knowledge, data, requirements, and viewpoints across different domains. Researchers and engineers need to develop a biomimetics database to assist them in achieving this goal. Because ontologies clarify concepts that appear in target domains, we assume that it is important to develop a biomimetics ontology that contributes to improvement of knowledge interoperability between the biology and engineering domains. Furthermore, linked data technologies are very effective for integrating a database with existing biological diversity databases. On the basis of these observations, we developed a biomimetics ontology and keyword exploration tool based on linked data techniques. The tool allows users to find important keywords for retrieving meaningful knowledge from various biomimetics databases. Such a technique could support idea creation by users based on a biomimetics ontology. This paper describes a prototype of our proposed biomimetics ontology and keyword exploration tool.