Exploring the innovational potential of biomimetics for novel 3D MEMS A novel way to describe the complexity of biological and engineering approaches depending on the number of different base materials is presented: Either many materials are used (material dominates) or few materials (form dominates) or just one material (structure dominates). The complexity of the approach (in biology as well as in engineering) increases with decreasing number of base materials. Biomimetics, i.e., technology transfer from biology to engineering, is especially promising in MEMS development because of the material constraints in both fields. The Biomimicry Innovation Method is applied to identify naturally nanostructured rigid functional materials, and subsequently analyze their prospect in terms of inspiring MEMS development.