Bionics Technology

With its molded plastic cover and iridescent shell, it makes anyone wearing it look remarkably like some beetle flying down the slopes. And like a beetle, its hard outer shell protects your precious inner stuff -- a lunch, laptop, or just some books. When super-protection isn't absolutely necessary, you might try one of their crush-resistant Amphib backpacks.

When something slightly more important than your lunch is on the line, exoskeleton mimicry is still a great option. Roy Shifrin's IDEA award winning bicycle helmet for Sportscope is one such design. Rather than have a completely rigid design, Roy's helmet uses a number of articulated plates joined by a nylon mesh. Articulation is nothing new to the animal kingdom, and is modeled here by a sowbug.
This lets the plates fit themselves automatically to the head, giving much better impact protection than a rigid helmet, which can sometimes lead to the head bouncing around inside it on impact.

These amazing insects are made of technology, not the other way around. Look closely and you can see windshield wipers, TVs, and vacuum cleaners.