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Conclusion

This is the final post of the blog. This post summarise our 14 weeks journey of biomimicry and provide some recommendation to further improve this project.  As a final post to conclude our biomimicry journey, here is a summary of the past posts. In the beginning, the anatomy of the crocodile was first discussed to highlight the several unique features of the crocodile. The next post talks about more in-depth review of these distinct features and the working mechanism behind these nature wonders. The following post focuses on other bio-inspirations by the crocodile or other inventions that was inspired by the crocodile. After that, our team came up with our own idea that was inspired by the crocodile which is the piezoelectric sensor and the theory as well as the principle behind our idea was discussed. Finally, each of the team member express our own reflections and thoughts about the blog. To conclude, we learnt, studied and came up with new ideas all based on one animal. Thi
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Individual Reflection

This post displays every member's personal reflection.  Loh Wei Sheng Piezoelectric sensors mimicked from the integumentary sensory organ (ISO) from crocodile is the most interesting proposed used of biomimicry that was developed in blog. This is because the piezoelectric sensor is able to solve some of the issues face by the common sensors used for autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). The function of AUV is to detect submerged debris, rocks and obstacles that may threaten navigation for commercial or recreational crafts. There are a few different type of sensors used for AUV in the market such as optical sensor and sound sensor but they face some issues. The visibility of the optical sensor is low when it is placed in the deep water while the sound sensor may harm the marine lives. In order to overcome the issues mentioned above, piezoelectric pressure sensors inspired by the crocodile can be invented. By using the piezoelectric pressure sensors inspired by the crocodile, th
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Reversed Engineering Worksheet.

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This week, the new design are discussed in detail from the engineering aspects. Piezoelectric Sensor Piezoelectric sensor is an electrical devices which converts mechanical energy to electrical energy to measure changes in pressure, acceleration, temperature, strain or force. There are many types of piezoelectric sensors namely piezoelectric accelerometers, piezoelectric force sensors, piezoelectric pressure sensors and etc. and they are widely used in the industry for quality assurance, process control and research and development. Various application such as in medical, aerospace, nuclear instrumentation and tilt sensor in consumer electronics or pressure sensor in touch pads of mobile phone utilize piezoelectric sensors. Piezoelectric sensors are available in various shapes and thread configurations to allow various types of measurements. Integumentary Sensory Organs (ISOs) on the scale of crocodile allows them to hunt for prey in the dark by detecting the surface pressur
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Inspired Design

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This post focus on the proposed design that can be used in the industry inspired by the crocodile.  As we know, crocodiles have very tough epidermal scales that consist keratin and bony plates for protection. The scales are unique as they result from cracking of the hardened skin rather than their shape being genetically determined. Dome pressure receptors (DPR) or Integumentary Sensory organs (ISOs) are the sensors on the scales with fingertip sensitivity. Some crocodile (eg. Caiman) has the sensors on the head since embryos stage before the skin start to crack and form scales while some other crocodile (eg. Nile Crocodile) has developed the sensors all over their body. The DPR contained mechano-sensory receptor to detect touch, thermo-sensory receptor to detect temperature and chemo-sensory receptor to detect chemical stimuli. DPR allows the crocodiles to be capable to hunt prey in the dark by detecting the surface pressure waves. The thermal sensors help them to keep thei
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Bio-inspiration

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This post discuss about other ideas or inventions that was inspired by the crocodile.  1. Flexible armor modeled from crocodiles Taking a page from the biological playbook of animals like crocodiles, engineers have developed a type of body armor that is stronger and more flexible, thanks to its design. Crocodile are born with armor that has a natural level of elasticity and malleability, allowing them to roll into protective balls and rend themselves invulnerable from predators or other threats. Essentially, the armor is a series of hard plates embedded into the animal’s skin, assorted in a way so as to provide the most protection. In a report from Discovery News, scientists used a laser to cut glass in a similar design and used silicone glue to attach the glass plates to a rubber “skin.” The findings indicated an increase in puncture resistance of up to 70% from the unsegmented glass. The reported increase in resistance has inspired the team to take the design to products like bo
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Literature Review

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For this week’s post, the focus of the discussion will be on several features that was mentioned in the previous post and more in-depth understanding regarding these features. Skin As mentioned in previous post, crocodile has a unique scale that is different from other reptiles. This bony scale layer is known as scute and can be found along the crocodile’s back. Different from the scale found on snakes or lizards, scutes are formed in the lower vascular layer of the skin and the epidermal element is only the top layer. Underneath the epidermal element lies the osteoderms layer. Osteoderms are bony deposits forming scales and in many case, functions as defensive armor. In crocodile, osteoderms also functions as heat exchangers, allowing these large reptiles to cool down or heat up rapidly. The scute layer helps prevent water loss which allows crocodile to stay on the land for longer period of time. This is due to the structure of the scute, which is made up of keratin, an i
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Anatomy of Crocodile

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Introduction of Crocodile Species Crocodiles   (subfamily   Crocodylinae) or   true crocodiles   are large aquatic   reptiles   that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and   Australia . Crocodile, alligator often appear to be similar to the untrained eye. The most obvious external differences are visible in the head with crocodiles having narrower and longer heads, with a more V-shaped than a U-shaped snout compared to alligators. Characteristic and Biology 1)   Streamlined Body A crocodile’s physical traits allow it to be a successful   predator . Its external   morphology   is a sign of its   aquatic   and   predatory   lifestyle.   Its   streamlined   body enables it to swim swiftly, it also tucks its feet to the side while swimming, which makes it faster by decreasing water resistance. They have   webbed feet   which, though not used to propel the animal through the water, allow them to make fast turns and sudden moves in the water or initiate
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