The Pattern Alphabet goes back to NASA Big fun with NASA V.I.N.E., their nature inspired learning cluster at NASAGlenn in Cleveland, for the Bio Inspired Design (BID) workshop in September 2019.

And a big development:

the Pattern ABC has been encoded into the visual search engine PeTaL. 

Here’s how the Pattern ABC got to NASA.

PhD’s Last August, we presented the genesis and applications of the pattern alphabet at Biocene 2018, their 3rd Biomimicry conference. Besides AI, the patterns can be thought of as short hand for engineers and PhD’s to explain their designs and concepts, since the patterns are how nature builds in 2D and 3D according to the laws of physical space.

NASA VINE then invited us to present the patterns to their AI cluster at AAAI in October 2018.

PeTaL, the Periodic Table of Life, is led by Dr. Vikram Shyam head of NASA V.I.N.E., and is a visual AI tool to help machine learning of natural forms in organisms, and to show their quantitative distribution. Super cool. AI to recognize species and compare them visually has many uses in cataloging species via multiple imaging techniques, to learn from them further.

Book chapter A new textbook is being developed by this BID cluster with Elsevier, and we’ve been invited to submit a chapter. Applied Biomimicry (Design, Materials, Habitats) will be edited by Vik Shyam and Marjan Eggermont, engineering teacher at U Calgary, and editor of Zygote Quarterly (ZQ is stunning, go find it).

STEAM teaching tool Marjan brought the patterns to her engineering class at U Calgary, and we will feature her students’ fantastic work showing the patterns in photo series. If you want to learn more from nature, we suggest our BID friends AskNature.org, a great resource for curious people and students.

image bank We are creating an image database for the patterns in nature, for sharing with the NASA cluster, the early cognitive psychologists, and the research team working on our pilot. If you would like to submit images please email us.

preschool In October, more great news …… results from Tanzanian pilot, UNICEF, and new spatial studies and collaborators for preschool learning.