Self Reflection

Sie Kian says.....

The experience in working on the Biomimetic Project was challenging and fun, but most importantly it was an eye opening project which I came to appreciate. First of all, I have the responsibility to the adopted Pleco fish such as feeding it and changing the water every three to four days. I have read numerous webpage regarding the Pleco fish to better understand their habitat so as to provide them with the suitable living environment and diet. The responsibility that I have bared during this project make me realise that nature do known best and able to solve problems without compromising the environment. 

Regarding the blog creation, I personally felt that it was difference approach towards my learning style. In order to create a meaningful blog with adequate information, I have done many comprehensive reading regarding the biological aspect of the Pleco fish as well as the biomimicry on the Plecos. I am not a typical person who love reading a lot, but learning via blog creation have encourage me so. I and the group have put a significant amount of time and effort on the blog, which we personally felt proud of it.

The most fascinating and admiring biomimicry on our blog would be the ability of the plecostomus species to attach themselves to almost any kind of surfaces, regardless surfaces which are both wet and uneven or even underwater. This is something current technology could not achieve. Therefore, after studying the physics and biology behind this possibility, the group have decided to mimic the feature of the plecostomus species which enables them to accomplish such feats. Our bio inspiration involved the improvement to current suction cups/pads. By incorporating the microscopic hair feature on the surface edge of the suction cups/pads, attaching to wet and even surface could be made possible. In short, these microscopic hair add friction to the cups/pads to prevent slips while at the same time preventing water from slipping in the vacuum space, therefore maintaining the suction capability.

 Lastly, working in a group have make the completion of the blog possible. Each members contributed a significant effort to the blog. The bio inspiration would not be possible without constructive brainstorming. My greatest contribution in the project with be taking care of the fish, providing the literature reviews on the Pleco and also using SolidWorks to draw the mimicked microscopic hair on the surface of the suction cups/pads. It was a real challenge for a CE discipline to do so with so limited knowledge on the software, but all challenges are accepted and the prototype model was produced.

Sie Kiong says....

This entire 14 weeks of studying the biomimicry of the Pleco fish along with 3 of my group members has been an amazing journey. At the beginning of this module, our group encountered some difficult decision in deciding the type of creature that we would want to adopt. But after much serious discussion, we finally came to an agreement to adopt  Pleco fish as these amazing creatures are actually natural survival of nature.

Throughout this module, I have been keeping close attention on studying 3 of our adopted Pleco fish in terms of their living pattern, eating habits etc. I find that the Pleco fish are friendly when they are juvenile but will grow to become aggressive in terms of their territory as the age. But, having lived together for the past 3 months, these Pleco have learned to share their territory with each other, which is a big relief for me because the Pleco will actually fight to the death  just to occupy a territory. I can say that after taking care of these Pleco, they really love to eat cucumber that we bought instead of the sinking food. If anyone has Pleco at home, I would suggest you to feed them cucumber as well as it actually provided them with lots of nutrients.

In this group, my contributions are mainly on writing the literature review on the Pleco fish which most of the researcher actually refer them as the more common term of suckermouth fish or armoured catfish. I studied on the scale of the fish which is actually very different from other fish as it is very tough which protects them from predatory as deadly as piranha. I am amazed that the scale of the Pleco is so tough that it could fracture the piranha's teeth when they tried to bite it. This was initially one of our idea for the bio-inspiration for the blog creation which is to create something that is tough but flexible at the same time. But, we are also amazed by the suckermouth of the Pleco which can perform suction on a wet and uneven surface, that which inspired our novel industrial application for the underwater crane to lift a heavy sunken object at the seabed. Besides that, I have also spent some extra time to write about some fun facts of the Pleco in our blog, have fun reading them!

To conclude my personal reflection to this blog, I truly felt that this module lead me to view engineering in a different point of view whereby we could actually look to nature for inspiration and idea when it comes to design and solving and engineering challenges. Up to date, there are countless of engineering designs that are inspired by nature that we aren't aware of. I was surprised to learn that many of our daily applications actually came from nature itself such as the Velco, tapes, swimsuits and so much more. This course makes me appreciate the teachings from nature (like seriously), it also makes me realised that we aren't treating nature fairly where a lot of us still pollute the environment and over urbanisation which cuts down the natural habitat for many creatures.

Lastly, I would like to show my gratitude to my group members for their efforts in this blog creation. I think in a way, this blog creation also brings us closer together as friends. As a final year student, I feel that taking this module does provide me with something different than the typical engineering modules that I have taken for the past 4 years here at Taylor's.

Ivan says....

In the beginning of this module, we find it hard to decide on which life creation to adopt. We finally came to a decision of adopting Pleco fish with a curious mindset that what the Pleco fish can inspire us. Throughout the journey, it is a great sight to see the growth of the Pleco fish. Their growth has shown that they are able to adapt in a different environment from before. Their growth period has inspired us to study on how they are able to attach on the surface of the little aquarium and how they are able to even eat upside down.

The study done on the mouth of the Pleco has shown that there is actually microvilli on the suction area which makes the Pleco fish to be able to adhere onto various surfaces. This has inspired us to think of how the current underwater crane has the problem where they have put time and effort into finding the best way of obtaining the object from the sea bed. The application that we have thought of may be able to solve this problem where the suction cup is able to obtain objects regardless of the surface condition.

Working with the other 3 members have been a pleasure. Starting the blog and being one of the editors has made me become closer with the others. Although sometimes lazy to do so, other members have consistently pushed me on to make the blog a success. Group discussions are always done in an orderly manner and I am glad that I have 3 great group members. Since this is the last semester of my engineering degree (assuming that I pass this last semester), I think that this blog creation has really enhance my friendship with the other group members. Cheers to all :)

Pak Kee says...

It has been an enjoyable ride of 14 weeks being continuously inspired by mother nature and her ability in overcoming complex challenges. The adoption of Plecostomus fish, which was initially a random idea has actually opened my eyes in the potential of ideas that can be derived from it. Although 14 weeks might sound like a short span of time, but we have been able to witness their versatility in growing away from their natural habitat. The interesting thing about Pleco. fish in its ability to sticking on wet and slippery surface which has motivated us in studying this feature.

The presence of tiny hairs around the lining of Pleco. fish mouth as well as its flexibility rendering them to adhere to uneven surfaces with ease, which leads to the conceive of idea in which the mimicked suction mouth could be used to replace the unsteady crane hook. The ability of the suction cup in maintaining its suction power under conditions like high current or wet surfaces emerged as the most valuable innovation aspect in the application of underwater crane.

Being able to contribute to the group through extensive readings of literature and reviewing them in the blog has been a rewarding experience, specifically the anatomy of Plecos. fish. Besides, getting to research on the weakness of "crane-hook" or shackling of underwater payload has indeed inspired me and my group which lead to the invention of our novel product. Overall it has been a pleasure experience to be able to work with such attentive and motivating group mates. Certainly, I never knew writing blog could be that enjoyable and I hope I discovered it earlier!