Biomimetic Design to Support the Design of Individual Protection Device

The paper aims at describing an ongoing research based on the development of individual protection devices, characterized by the use of technological innovation and biomimetic processes, for the customization of the product according to the facial physiognomic characteristics of each user. To date, the state of the art, in the field of the development of innovative biomedical devices, shows an increasingly strong link between design and medicine, and a design based on the human-centered design approach is increasingly recurrent, in order to meet the needs of users, including the need to make devices customizable, suitable in the different contexts of everyday life, comfortable and practical to wear, and easy to dispose of. The ambition was, therefore, to reinterpret a particular type of personal safety equipment (PPE), the face mask, with the aim of increasing its usability. To do this, the research made use of an innovative design and production process, based on the use of the biomimetic approach for both the morphological and functional aspects of the project. In this regard, the inspiration from the bone texture—strong but light—and the gripping function of the fingertips of tree frogs, represent important references with respect to the research conducted. As far as the production aspects are concerned, the research made use of digital surveying and additive manufacturing (3D Printing—3DP), in order to realize a device that could be adapted to the user's needs, as well as easily reproducible and disposable.