Mechanical Intelligence (MI): A Bioinspired Concept for Transforming Engineering Design

Despite significant scientific advances in the past decades, most structures around us are static and ironically outdated from a technological perspective. Static structures have limited efficiency and durability and typically perform only a single task. Adaptive structures, in contrast, adjust to different conditions, tasks, and functions. They not only offer multi-functionality but also enhanced efficiency and durability. Despite their obvious advantages over conventional structures, adaptive structures have only been limitedly used in everyday life applications. This is because adaptive structures often require sophisticated sensing, feedback, and controls, which make them costly, heavy, and complicated. To overcome this problem, here the concept of Mechanical Intelligence (MI) is introduced to promote the development of engineering systems that adapt to circumstances in a passive-automatic way. MI will offer a new paradigm for designing structural components with superior capabilities. As adaptability has been rewarded throughout evolution, nature provides one of the richest sources of inspiration for developing adaptive structures. MI explores nature-inspired mechanisms for automatic adaptability and translates them into a new generation of mechanically intelligent components. MI structures, presenting widely accessible bioinspired solutions for adaptability, will facilitate more inclusive and sustainable industrial development, reflective of Goal 9 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.