How one engineer's birdwatching made Japan's bullet train better

greenbiz.com 19 Oct '12, 2pm

How one engineer's birdwatching made Japan's bullet train better

What is the connection between an engineer going bird watching and his saving millions of dollars for his company? Or, what does catching flies have to do with preventing plane crashes? How will locust swarms change the nature of our highways? Can a mold do a better job of plotting our mass transit systems than a team of engineers and planners? The common thread in all these scenarios: Deep observation and analysis of the natural world can lead to amazingly creative innovations. I will write about all these things in this series on transportation, but first let’s take a look at a how a couple of interesting birds inspired a sleek design. Eiji Nakatsu was the general manager of the technical development department for the so-called “bullet” trains of Japan, famed for their speed and safety record. After attending a 1990 lecture on birds by an aviation engineer, Nakatsu, who...

Full article: http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2012/10/19/how-one-engineers...

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@PhilipsLumec » 25 Oct '12, 3pm
Excellent article on how nature can inspire great design.How birdwatching made Japan's bullet train sleeker/ better. [link]
@TheWonderbag » 24 Oct '12, 2pm
An engineer turns to owls and kingfishers for inspiration to make Japan's bullet train faster and quieter! [link]
@Caledoniawealth » 23 Oct '12, 3pm
Great example of blending forms from nature into transportation advances #birds - [link]
@sherwinnovator » 23 Oct '12, 10am
Cool #sustainabledesign article | How one engineer's birdwatching made Japan's bullet train better [link] #GrnBz via @GreenBiz
@powerhousenrgy » 23 Oct '12, 9am
How natural #design helped cut bullet train #energy costs. [link]
@KendraWrites » 22 Oct '12, 3pm
Another win for biodiversity - Japanese bullet trains improved by bird watching [link] @GreenBiz
@MitsubishiHI » 22 Oct '12, 2pm
How inspiration from bird-watching helped engineer improve Japan’s bullet train.Nice e.g of innovation in #engineering! [link]
@Four_Winds_LLC » 22 Oct '12, 2pm
Sleek design..bio-inspired! How one engineer's birdwatching made Japan's bullet train better [link] #GrnBz via @GreenBiz
@marcstoiber » 22 Oct '12, 1pm
First, go play outside. Then, redesign a train and become world famous. [link] #GrnBz via @GreenBiz
@greengotham » 22 Oct '12, 1pm
How birdwatching helped an engineer make Japan's bullet trains better. #biomimicry [link]
@TrendsUpdater » 22 Oct '12, 12pm
RT @packfutur: Biomimicry silences hi-speed train. (via @GreenBizTweets, @ToyotaEquipment) [link]
@PjaSantiago » 22 Oct '12, 9am
a classic! How one engineer's birdwatching made Japan's bullet train better [link] #GrnBz via @GreenBiz
@ecocoach » 21 Oct '12, 4pm
#Japan's #BulletTrain: How deep observation of the #NaturalWorld can lead to amazingly #creative #innovations [link] #GreenBiz
@adnzafar » 21 Oct '12, 6am
RT @Watwoman: How one engineer's birdwatching made Japan's bullet train better [link] #Japan
@j00st » 19 Oct '12, 11pm
How one engineer's birdwatching made Japan's bullet train better - [link] (blog) [link] #greenbusiness
@twttwtchoochoo » 19 Oct '12, 11pm
How one engineer's birdwatching made Japan's bullet train better [link] via @prismatic #in #hsr
@theGREENprogram » 19 Oct '12, 9pm
"Deep observation and analysis of the natural world can lead to amazingly creative innovations." [link] #biomimicry
@yelsmeh » 19 Oct '12, 9pm
RT @_BTO: This is cool - how one engineer's birdwatching made Japan's bullet train better: [link] via @GreenBiz
@_BTO » 19 Oct '12, 8pm
This is cool - how one engineer's birdwatching made Japan's bullet train better: [link] via @GreenBiz
@LauraBina » 19 Oct '12, 5pm
RT @Running_ecomom: How one engineer's birdwatching made Japan's bullet train better [link] #GrnBz via @GreenBiz #biomimicry
@Running_ecomom » 19 Oct '12, 5pm
How one engineer's birdwatching made Japan's bullet train better [link] #GrnBz via @GreenBiz #biomimicry
@shakayumi » 19 Oct '12, 3pm
How one engineer's birdwatching made Japan's bullet train better [link] #greenit
@JapanRail » 19 Oct '12, 3pm
How one engineer's birdwatching made Japan's bullet train better - [link] (blog) [link]
@lonepinestore » 19 Oct '12, 3pm
How one engineer's birdwatching made Japan's bullet train better: What is the connection between an engineer goi... [link]
@packfutur » 19 Oct '12, 2pm
Biomimicry silences hi-speed train. (via @GreenBizTweets, @ToyotaEquipment) [link]
@ToyotaEquipment » 19 Oct '12, 2pm
Via @GreenBizTweets How one engineer's birdwatching made Japan's bullet train better [link] #business #eco
@EricAsimov » 19 Oct '12, 2pm
RT @greenbiztweets: How owls and kingfishers inspired a Japanese engineer to make a better bullet train [link] #biomimicry
@greenbiztweets » 19 Oct '12, 2pm
How owls and kingfishers inspired a Japanese engineer to make a better bullet train [link] #biomimicry
@cesararquitecto » 19 Oct '12, 2pm
@ParisMatch How one engineer's birdwatching made Japan's bullet train better [link]
@Socialgoodgal » 19 Oct '12, 2pm
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@LexysMedia » 19 Oct '12, 2pm
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@cesararquitecto » 19 Oct '12, 2pm
How one engineer's birdwatching made Japan's bullet train better [link] #green
@greeneconpost » 19 Oct '12, 2pm
How one engineer's birdwatching made Japan's bullet train better [link] #green
@TOgreenhouse » 19 Oct '12, 2pm
How one engineer's birdwatching made Japan's bullet train better: A high-speed rail operator needed its trains t... [link]
@sfeldman0 » 19 Oct '12, 2pm
How one engineer's birdwatching made Japan's bullet train better: A high-speed rail operator needed its trains t... [link]
@agergas » 19 Oct '12, 2pm
How one engineer's birdwatching made Japan's bullet train better | [link] [link]
@PracGreenMktg » 19 Oct '12, 2pm
How one engineer's birdwatching made Japan's bullet train better: A high-speed rail operator needed its trains t... [link]
@agergas » 19 Oct '12, 2pm
How one engineer's birdwatching made Japan's bullet train better: A high-speed rail operator needed its trains t... [link]
@Kurniavl » 19 Oct '12, 2pm
How one engineer's birdwatching made Japan's bullet train better: A high-speed rail operator needed its trains t... [link]
@envi_news » 19 Oct '12, 2pm
How one engineer's birdwatching made Japan's bullet train better: A high-speed rail operator needed its trains t... [link]
@SmarterLight » 19 Oct '12, 2pm
How one engineer's birdwatching made Japan's bullet train better: A high-speed rail operator needed its trains t... [link]
@agergas » 19 Oct '12, 2pm
How one engineer's birdwatching made Japan's bullet train better | [link] [link]
@MyGreenMBA » 19 Oct '12, 2pm
How one engineer's birdwatching made Japan's bullet train better [link]
@jeffdelkin » 19 Oct '12, 2pm
How one engineer's birdwatching made Japan's bullet train better: A high-speed rail operator needed its trains t... [link]
@bambuhome » 19 Oct '12, 2pm
How one engineer's birdwatching made Japan's bullet train better: A high-speed rail operator needed its trains t... [link]
@randytyrrell » 19 Oct '12, 2pm
How one engineer's birdwatching made Japan's bullet train better: A high-speed rail operator needed its trains t... [link]
@agergas » 19 Oct '12, 2pm
How one engineer's birdwatching made Japan's bullet train better: A high-speed rail operator needed its trains t... [link]
@CleanArcPower » 19 Oct '12, 2pm
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@Streamer » 19 Oct '12, 2pm
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@enviroBYTES » 19 Oct '12, 2pm
How one engineer's birdwatching made Japan's bullet train better: A high-speed rail operator needed its trains t... [link]