Feature-preserving synthesis of termite-mimetic spinodal nest morphology

Sebastian Oberst; Richard Martin

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2023.108674

Feature-preserving synthesis of termite-mimetic spinodal nest morphology

iScience. 2023 Dec 14;27(1):108674. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.108674. eCollection 2024 Jan 19.

Authors

Sebastian Oberst^{1

2}, Richard Martin¹

Affiliations

¹ Centre for Audio, Acoustics and Vibration, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia.
² School of Engineering and IT, University of New South Wales, University of New South Wales, Canberra, ACT 2612, Australia.

Abstract

Termite-built topology is complex due to group interactions and environmental feedback. Being interlinked with material characteristics and related to functionality, an accurate synthesis of termite mound topology has never been achieved. We scanned inner termite mound pieces via high-resolution micro-computed tomography. A wavelet scattering transform followed by optimization extracts features that are fed into a Gaussian Random Fields (GRFs) approach to synthesize termite-mimetic spinodal topology. Compared to natural structures the GRF topology is more regular. Irregularity is related to anisotropy, indicative of directionality caused by porous network connectivity of chambers and corridors. Since GRFs are related to diffusion, we assume that deterministic behavioral traits play a significant role in the development of these local differences. We pioneer a framework to reliably mimic termite mound spinodal features. Engineering termite-inspired structures will allow to inspect aspects of termite architectures and their behavior to manufacture novel material concepts with imprinted multi-functionality.

Keywords: Applied signal processing; Entomology.