Research Station

 

 

Structures  in  the  rainforest  are  subject  to  insect  infestations and  flooding.  Obtaining  sunlight  for  solar  power  and  room lighting,  as  well  as  capturing  cross  breezes  for  natural cooling,  requires  the  destructive  cutting  of  openings  in  the forest  canopy.

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A modular  field  station  of  nested  tents  and rigid structures that  can  be  floated  on  the  shoreline  of  the  peninsula minimizes  the  station’s  maintenance  needs  and  ecological footprint. Ants  in  the  genus  Odontomachus,  also  known  as trapjaw  ants,  employ  a  mechanism  that  allows  them  to capture  prey  by  snapping  their  long,  sturdy  mandibles  at speeds  of  up  to  145  mph. A  trapjaw  inspired  mechanism helps  deploy  the  structure.