# What Do We Learn from Good Practices of Biologically Inspired Design in Innovation?
## 1 Introduction
### Biologically Inspired Design in Innovation
As such, the use of BID in innovation management can decrease the number of attempts to reach a certain level of innovation by using the solution space of nature for knowledge transfer. As shown in Table 1, some studies suggest that about ten attempts are needed to achieve an obvious, conventional solution to a problem within its own field and with known methodologies [37; 38]. Each following step toward a higher level of invention, based on the novelty, raises the number of attempts to the power of ten, so that for a discovery of a new scientific phenomenon, which leads to a paradigm shift, more than 100,000 attempts are necessary [37; 38]. One can imagine that problem solving becomes a time consuming and difficult challenge, so that methods of generating novel and useful ideas are needed. BID can be considered to be such a methodology and to offer a design space with proven solutions with a defined level of performance. Like other creativity techniques, it could therefore be considered to--if desired--decrease the number of attempts; this offers the chance for breakthrough innovation, makes use of a systematic knowledge transfer, and can turn serendipity into a means of designing solutions. Still, the process of actually doing it remains challenging. Regarding its origin, BID can be performed a) in academia, b) in collaboration between academia and industry, or c) in industry for the development or improvement of existing products. When BID is performed in academia and the research is mature enough to make viable products, the collaboration between academia and industry becomes increasingly important in order to implement the concept from lab to application. Alternatively, the academic research could be developed further by an academic spin-off, as seen for instance with the technological spider silk [41]. The collaboration \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c} \hline \hline
**Level of Invention** & **Number of Trials** & **Percentage of Patents** \\ \hline Apparent: & & \\ Established solutions; & & \\ well-known and readily accessible & & \\ (e.g., reinforcing a wall by making it thicker) & & \\ \hline Improvement: & & \\ Existing system improved, usually with some & & \\ compromise (e.g., a new electronic device & & \\ based on already existing components) & & \\ \hline Invention within paradigm: & & \\ A concept for a new generation of an existing & 100–1000 & 19 \\ system (e.g., automatic transmission) & & \\ \hline Invention outside paradigm: & & \\ A new concept for performing the primary & & \\ function of an existing system & & \\ (e.g., X-ray machine, CD-ROM, RF receiver) & & \\ \hline Discovery: & & \\ Pioneering invention of an essentially new & more than 100,000 & 0.3 \\ system (e.g. X-rays, laser, radio) & & \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 1: Level of invention and number of trials. between academia and industry can also be due to a market pull, where industry needs solutions for existing problems and seeks the collaboration with respective experts from academia, as shown for instance with the development of a self-sharpening knife [42]. Examples for the performance of BID in industry are manifold, from using BID as a problem-solving strategy as part of the overall product development process (e.g., as seen with the development of paintings [43] or fan systems [44]) to an innovation strategy, such as the so-called bionic learning network of FESTO AG [45]. The general challenges of innovation, as well as the gap between academic research and industry [46], are sometimes referred to as the \"valley of death\", as shown in Figure 2. The aforementioned challenging aspect of carrying out BID becomes even more challenging, once it becomes necessary as well to perform the steps required to overcome the \"valley of death\". In addition, best practice in BID includes a successful transfer of knowledge from biology to technology, with the abstraction of the principle and its application [3; 5; 8; 20; 22].