Beyond Biomimicry to Systems Mimicry
INCOSE Enchantment Chapter Meeting September 13, 2017
Presented by: Len Troncale, California State Polytechnic University
Download slides or learn more about the chapter at www.incose.org/enchantment
Abstract: The sciences study natural phenomena using experimental methods. Their evidence and discoveries are widely used in engineering design and implementation. This talk proposes to use their vast data to establish a new specialty called “systems mimicry.” This new knowledge base would provide tested, evidence-based solutions to the challenges that all systems face whatever their scale or particular function. The talk will describe the features of systems mimicry and suggest a new tool to explore its data for designing on the systems-level. It will list similarities and differences between the established biomimicry and the proposed systems mimicry. It will outline how general theories of systems like SPT (Systems Processes Theory) can provide a stimulus for adding the general systems focus to conscious SE praxis and provide a framework for integrating the unintegrated results of several systems science and natural science knowledge bases. Five possible examples of use of systems mimicry in systems design will be presented as case studies (use of hierarchies in materials design; chaos & robotics; using principles of exaptation in design; use of systems evolutionary algorithms; and use of awareness of systems pathology. The talk will end by suggesting a wider, future vision of systems design and SE.