Global Initiative To Develop Nature-Inspired Technologies Announced At GMIS

The Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit, GMIS, has announced a new global initiative in response to the President Vladimir Putin's call for action to develop nature-inspired technologies that are less resource-intensive and more eco-friendly.

During his keynote address at the Summit's launch, President Putin said, "I am convinced that ensuring clean air, water, food, and quality of life and life expectancy for billions of people requires drastically new technologies and technical devices, which are less resource-intensive but much more eco-friendly. Such uber efficient scientific engineering, manufacturing solutions will allow us to strike a proper balance between bio and techno spheres. This includes the so-called nature-inspired technologies. They imitate natural processes and systems. They follow the laws of nature. I believe that in our era of tectonic changes and uncertainty, the priority for us are the intrinsic values, the creation of better opportunities for life and development of people. This great responsibility lies with us for the future of our planet and we need to work together."

In collaboration with Kurchatov Institute, the Skolkovo Foundation, and the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade, the new global initiative will call for research papers through an academic network, focusing on biomimicry and sustainable industrial technologies that are inspired by nature.

With the Kurchatov Institute, the initiative will assess and review the most viable solutions that can be forwarded to Skolkovo Foundation for prototyping. The Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit and Skolkovo Foundation will then invite start-ups and small and medium enterprises, SMEs, from around the world to participate in the challenge of developing the solution, and thereafter collaborate with the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade for wide-spread industrial deployment.

Under the theme of 'Nature-Inspired Technology and the Future of Manufacturing', GMIS 2019 highlighted some of the greatest innovations in biomimicry through dedicated sessions exploring the many ways manufacturing is drawing inspiration from existing systems in the natural world to solve complex human problems.

Commenting on the announcement, Badr Al-Olama, Head of the GMIS Organising Committee, said, "Nature should continue inspiring us on our path of technological innovation and transformation in the advent of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. This will allow for clean air, water, food, and quality of life to be sustained for generations to come."

"We are proud to announce our second global initiative that is inspired by the President Putin, and his vision of using sustainable and eco-friendly solutions that are inspired by nature. We look forward to the realisation of this global vision in partnership with academia, the start-up community, and the manufacturing sector," he added.

The new global initiative was launched at the closing ceremony of the Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit, that took place from 9th-11th July.