Simplifying the Wrinkled Complexity of Elephant Trunks using Knitted Biomimicry

2024

Miscellaneous

hi

The elephant trunk skin’s unique morphology and composition result in prominent wrinkles and folds along the trunk; these features provide the trunk versatility and flexibility and contribute to the functionality of the trunk in different situations. These wrinkled and folded structures change throughout the trunk giving different functional trade-offs. The tip has skin for gripping and the proximal base has skin for protection. We attempt to capture these unique properties by manipulating the programmable nature of knitted fabrics and knit bio-inspired mimics of the wrinkles and folds. Using MicroCTs scans of the African elephant trunk tissue we look at the morphology and composition of different sites along the elephant trunk. Knitted fabrics provide a design space where one can program not only visual characteristics but directed elasticity as well. We use mechanical testing experiments to compare the likeness of the knitted mimics with actual elephant trunk skin samples – collected humanely – to test the viability of the mimics and better understand trunk properties. This work gives way to understanding wrinkled phenomenon in nature and ways we can re-create the complexities of skin using novel material methods.

@misc{Singal24-SICB-knitting,
  title = {Simplifying the Wrinkled Complexity of Elephant Trunks using Knitted Biomimicry},
  author = {Singal, Krishma and Schulz, Andrew and Dimitriyev, Michael and Matsumoto, Elisabetta},
  booktitle = {Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology},
  address = {Seattle, USA},
  month = jan,
  year = {2024},
  doi = {},
  month_numeric = {1}
}