What is Biomimetics

This chapter opens up discussions upon the relevance of interaction of representations and data visualization modes for smart cities design, planning, and development that occur beyond paper and computer drawing. Although many practitioners usually relate smart cities and digital twins design exclusively to CAD/CAM/CAE and BIM methods, processes, and tools, a wider pool of techniques and forms of expression might be the key to a more accurate and comprehensive way of simulating the several kinds of alterations that happen in the planned built environment. The chapter deals with the study of concepts that relate to both physical and virtual prototyping, which underlines an interdisciplinary approach to design and the impact of integrating biologically inspired principles from different backgrounds to the field of smart cities design. In this regard, biomimetics and additive manufacturing may play key roles in smart city's modeling design and the frontier technology of 5D printing reveals real-time decision-making programmable 4D printing process as a potential future development.