Inspired Design

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 their body temperature by basking under the sun and cooling in the water. At the same time, the chemical sensitivity allows them to find suitable habitats.

By inspired by mechano-receptor sensors of crocodiles, piezoelectric pressure sensors with direction detection function can be invented for autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). AUVs are used for underwater surveying to detect submerged debris, rocks and obstacles that may threaten navigation for commercial or recreational crafts. Among the common sensors used in market now such as optical sensors and sound navigation sensors faces issues. In turbid or deep water, the visibility is very low that optical sensor could not perform well while sound sensors will face blind zone and the intensive sound emmited might harm the marine lives. Therefore, passive sensing system can be employed to minimize disturbance to the environment while effectively collecting information.

On the outer skin layer of DPR, mechanoreceptors are separated into rapidly adapting (RA) and slowly adapting (SA). RAs are stimulated by the onset and offset of the stimulus while SAs are stimulated whenever the existence of the stimulus. The RAs are accountable for oscillation sensing and SAs are responsible for the steady mechanical signal detection. By examining the information obtained, crocodiles are able to locate the direction of disturbance in water in 3D space.

The piezoelectrical sensor can be designed according to the inspiration from DPRs:
1. Dome shape of DPRs
2. Several receptors on a single DPRs
3. Separate domes for RA and SA receptors


The concept of the sensing system will have a 3D printed dome shape that allows multiple receptors allocate at different position on the hemispherical dome such as center, north, east, south and west to detect the direction of disturbance. There will be individual domes for both RA and SA receptors in order to detect different stimulation. The center piezoelectric sensor will detect the dynamic pressure changes like the mechanoreceptors in DPRs of crocodile while the other 4 sensors play the role to detect the 3D orientations.
Figure 1: 3D printed dome

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Anatomy of Crocodile

Image
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
Read more

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
Read more

Bio-inspiration

Image
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
Read more