Advancing biomimetic materials through ISO standards

This paper discusses the challenges and opportunities of developing standards for biomimetic materials, based on the authors’ experience with International Organization for Standardization (ISO)/Technical Committee 266 ‘Biomimetics’. With the expansion of global trade, international standards are increasingly called on to protect the interests of consumers, improve business productivity and facilitate trade. In the past, standards typically addressed form/fit/function specifications and were associated with mature industries. Some ISO standards are beginning to focus on processes, quality and consistency, which can support advances in emerging fields such as biomimetics. ISO has the potential to advance biomimetic materials and biomimetics in general by developing and promoting frameworks that reflect the evolving nature of biomimetics. Rather than standardizing the output of biomimetics, ISO/TC 266 could explore systemic challenges and identify initiatives to overcome them, such as building an internationally recognized common vocabulary to improve communication within the biomimetics community. An in-depth assessment of research and industry trends relating to biomimetic materials could identify opportunities for collaboration that advance both theory and practice. The goal is to define an appropriate level of structure that accelerates development of biomimetics while at the same time encouraging creativity and exploration.