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Combining different features inspired by biological systems is necessary to obtain uncommon and unique multifunctional biologically inspired conceptual designs. The Expandable Domain Integrated Design (xDID) model is proposed to facilitate the multifunctional concept generation process. The xDID model extends the previously defined Domain Integrated Design (DID) method. The xDID model classifies biological features by their feature characteristics taken from various case-based bio-inspired design examples into their respective geometric designations called domains. The classified biological features are mapped to the respective plant and animal tissues from which they originate. Furthermore, the paper proposes a representation of the functions exhibited by the biological features at the embodiment level as a combination of the integrated structure (multiscale) and the structural strategy associated with the integrated structure. The xDID model is validated using three multifunctional bio-inspired design case studies at the end of the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nature is a continuous source of inspiration for scientists and engineers for creating innovative products. In the past decade, many methods, frameworks, and tools have been developed to support the design and development of biologically inspired products. This research provides an overview of the current state-of-the-art bio-inspired design methods and identifies that there is a need for the development of methods to support multifunctionality in design. Although there are several methods that assist in the development of multifunctional designs inspired by biology, there is still a gap identified in the emulation and integration of biological features to achieve multifunctional bio-inspired designs. This paper presents a comparative analysis of the current methods for multifunctional bio-inspired design based on nine specific criteria and, in the end, introduces a new design method called Domain Integrated Design (DID) that will further aid in the generation of multifunctional design concepts inspired from biology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]