Biomimicry

These two automata were commissioned by The Eden Project in 2004 to illustrate the subject of bio-mimicry (using what we see in nature to further science and engineering).
I was given the subject of man's attempts to fly. In the first automata the would be aviators copy nature in a too literal way and try to get airborne by constructing flapping wing machines, with disastrous results. In the second automata the aviators look at nature in a more scientific way, And develop the air foil (from a birds wing) and parachutes inspired by sycamore seeds.
These machines can be seen in the Core building at the Eden Project.