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, the sensor is able to perform well without affecting the marine lives.

I think that the design of the piezoelectric pressure sensors inspired by the crocodile is patentable because the design is able to improve the current technology in the field of sensor for AUV.

            In my opinion, I think that working as a team made the project easier. A team that works well together understands the strengths and weaknesses of each team member. One of the benefits of strong teamwork is that team leaders and members become proficient at dividing up tasks so they are done by the most qualified people. Without strong teamwork, it can be difficult for managers and executives to determine which staff members can best accomplish job tasks. Besides, work groups and teams develop systems that allow them to complete tasks efficiently and quickly. When a task is handed to a well-trained and efficient team, the team's work pace assures that the task will be completed quickly and accurately. Furthermore, the other benefit of working in a team is the inspiration and ideas that can result from team discussions. When running ideas by one and other, there is a lot more scope for creativity in comparison to working on a project alone. 

Lee Man Chee

The most interesting proposed used of biomimicry developed in the blog was the piezoelectric sensors which mimicked the integumentary sensory organ (ISO) from the crocodile skin. This is because the sensors designed are able to solve the problems of the common sensors in the market that used on autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) to detect submerged debris, rocks and obstacles that may threaten navigation for commercial or recreational crafts. The optical sensors and sound navigation sensors faces issues in turbid or deep water. The low visibility caused the optical sensors could not perform well while the sound sensors will face blind zone and the intensive sound emitted might harm the marine lives. Therefore, the piezoelectric sensor is a passive sensing system which can detect the location of obstacles effectively, at the same time minimize disturbance to the environment.

I think that our design is patentable. The design is unique as product which inspired and mimicked the crocodile skin is rare to find in the market. At the same time, the design is very useful to that it can solve the AUVs detecting problem in the under deep water and is eco-friendly to the marine lives.

Working as a team definitely made the project easier. A good leader could separate the tasks evenly to the members according to their strengths. Thus, the tasks will be completed more efficiently. In order to study a problem in the market, figure out the solution and did a complete research on the topic, the power of an individual is not enough. Especially on the final year of the study where each of the student need to take care about their final year project and there are a lot of assignment throughout the whole semester, working as a team made the project complete smoothly. As there are different members with different strengths, each has different opinions and own researches. During the discussion, the team will be able to learn more and get more inspiration based on the ideas of others. 

Ong Yoong Sion

     The most interesting proposed used of biomimicry of crocodile is the piezoelectric sensor based on the dome-shaped pressure receptors for passive hydrodynamic sensing. The dome pressure receptors or Integumentary Sensory organs (ISOs) on the scales of crocodile are so sensitive that they significantly improved the survivability and hunting ability of a crocodile. Mechano-sensory receptor (pressure detection) and thermos-sensory receptor (temperature detection) are the features that effectively helping an autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) to avoid crashing into large obstacle or dead-end path under minimum visibility situations. Moreover, these features can be adopted to be used on autonomous system in any road vehicle in extreme climate countries with thick fog and huge snow situations. The system will utilises the temperature detection to “foresee” the oncoming obstacles like cars, trees or road path to ensure the safety of the driver and passengers in the vehicle. The idea of this biomimicry design is definitely patentable in terms of the engineering solutions to the world. Autonomous vehicle technology is a trend currently for future market. Huge amount of experiments and testing are done by various companies in order to produce desire and functional product to meet the market expectations. The existing technology for an autonomous vehicle is highly depending on the radar scanning system to analyse the surrounding of the vehicle under maximum visibility situation. The thermos-sensory feature act as an upgrade for the autonomous system in a vehicle to be functional in extreme conditions. Working as a team has made this research of biomimicry project a lot easier as more innovative solutions that can contribute to the world are discussed and improvised during each discussion. 

Wah Yee Lyn

The most interesting proposed used of biomimicry from this blog is creating piezoelectric sensor by mimicking the functionality of Integumentary Sensory Organs (ISOs) embedded in crocodile skin. ISOs allows crocodile to hunt prey during the dark by detecting the pressure of surface waves and thermal sensors in ISOs helps them to measure their body temperature in order to maintain their body temperature by basking in the sun or cooling in the water. Piezoelectric sensors converts mechanical energy to electrical energy to measure any changes there is in pressure, acceleration, temperature, strain or force. This sensor is extremely useful as a direction detector for autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). Debris, rocks or obstacles under water causes different under water pressure that can be detected by piezoelectric sensors and use to navigate the AUVs away from obstacles.

Yes, the design is patentable because the following sensor has not been fully develop or been paid very little attention to. However, the functionality of sensor propose a great enhancement in under water navigation system. It prevents under water vehicles from damaging by correctly navigating vehicles away from obstacles.

Working as a team has definitely made this project easier. The tasks for this project are evenly separated and each member has an equivalent amount of workload to prevent overload of work on a member. Besides having equivalent workload, the content and knowledge of this project are shared among the members according to each blog post we are assigned to work on. This created an environment for sharing knowledge and educating each other for further understand the structure of crocodile skin and how to biomimicry it.

Wong Kah Kit

I think the most interesting proposed used of biomimicry that was developed in blog is the piezoelectric sensors that was proposed by applying biomimicry on crocodiles, mimicking the integumentary sensory organs on their skin. Not many biomimicry has been done based on crocodiles and I think it has many potentials. It is interesting because the sensors are capable of detecting low frequency vibrations within a short amount of time and this can potentially can be big help to application such as underwater robot. It can be used to detect any movement in the water and navigate more swiftly.

Yes, I do believe that the proposed design is patentable. As mentioned in one of the post, the proposed sensor design can be a major help to the medical and aeronautical industry. The proposed design can aid in invention of a new sensor that can detect vibration in a short amount of time with a lower production cost. I also believe that it is unique enough to be approved as not much work has be done on biomimicry of crocodile and through this biomimicry, many new useful inventions can be created.

In my opinion, working as a team made this project. As a mechanical engineering student, there are not a lot of opportunities where we will be involved with nature and biological aspects of any living organisms. Therefore, working as a team allow us to understand the working mechanism of a feature of a certain animal in a shorter amount of time. This is also the first time for us to uses the biomimicry technique to create new inventions and working as time made that easier since not everyone is as creative.