This project will be conducted over a three year period. The first objective of the research will involve the scanning and capture of the ‘true’ 3D structure of a Macrotermes michaelseni mound. Ruelle (1962) and Turner (2001) have both employed techniques which come close to visualising and partially capturing termite mound structures. Ruelle’s technique of filling the mound with a cementiteous slurry, then removing the mound walls with water and trowels, revealed the internal chambers and conduits for the first time as an indication of its complexity. Turner’s approach was to take dissections, at 100mm increments, through a mature Macrotermes michaelseni mound, which were sequentially photographed and traced, to define conduits and internal structure. However, the resolution was too low to identify and define the reticular nature of the structure. Capturing the geometry of a termite mound is now possible using Reverse Engineering techniques. What differs, in this case, from most scanning techniques is that we will be capturing both the outside and the inside of the structure. Techniques such as Magnetic Resonance and Computed Tomography Imaging can scan both external and internal detail but must also be ruled out, in this case, as they are neither portable or cost effective in this application. The solution is the ‘slice and scan’ procedure demonstrated in projects such as Visible Human^®.  The process works by the sequential milling and digital photographic scanning of thin layers of a component. It has been calculated that a mature mound, at 3000mm high and 2000mm diameter, will require slices at every 1mm in order to obtain sufficient resolution of the internal structure.  Below this thickness, the amount of data produced would be high, due to the cross sectional area of each scan taken, producing around 3,000 scanned images.  The images will then be reconstructed using the same technique employed to reassemble ‘cryosliced’, CT or MRI scan data to form a 3D model of anatomy. 

The second objective of the research involves using the captured geometry to develop and demonstrate a simulation model to describe the thermo-regulatory and respiratory gas exchange equilibrium found in a mound. The input variables, i.e. calculation of biomass (and therefore, thermal and humidity generation), measurement of flow within the structure, permeability of the structure to respiratory gases and external weather conditions will be both measured and calculated from the body of knowledge already recorded for these structures, prior to the commencement of scanning. The model will show the process of homeostasis in a static structure (if conditions vary, termites will re-build the structure to re-establish the equilibrium).

The third objective will be addressed by careful review of the findings obtained by the assembled team of investigators and collaborators, together with invited specialists from the UK and overseas in the fields of construction, manufacture and human sciences. This will culminate in the bringing together of these experts for a ‘brainstorming’ workshop. Here, the project findings and their reviews will be discussed, and lessons identified for potential further research aimed at assessing the possibility for some form of homeostatic approach for human construction and habitation.