Conclusion

Dear readers,

We are moving towards the end of this semester, and this will be our last update on this blog. It has been a long journey and we are glad that we had made it this far. We would like to thank all of you for your continuous support. It has been a very fun ride for us :)

Let us take a trip down to the memory lane of what we had wrote thus far.

Summary

We have kept Greg, Lisa, and his family and friends in captivity for a period of 10 weeks. Throughout this period, we have managed to know them better. We first look into the anatomy of beetle in general, then their functions towards the ecosystem. After that, products and technologies that were inspired from beetles were presented. Some of the interesting bioinspirations are the underwater robots, press roller, micro air vehicle, dew harvesting, spraying, and forest fire detection mechanisms. On top of that, dung beetle got our attention when we found out the existence of a vehicle named ‘Bio-Bug’ which operates based on bio-gas. We realised that the ability of dung beetle to utilize unwanted wastes by other organisms into useful energy for their consumption has the potential to be applied into human lives.

The use of biogas as the source of energy is not a new technology, there are communities who have realised the potential of renewable energy and applied it into equipment such as gas engine. Gas engine works similar to the conventional internal combustion engine but it is powered by biogas instead of gasoline. The thermal, chemical, and biochemical conversion methods of biomass were discussed in ‘Industrial Application’, posted back in May 2015.

Moving on, we then proposed a design concept based on the dung beetle and utilization of biogas into our daily life. The Biogas Generator for Residential Use was proposed. The working mechanism and design were illustrated and described. If you would like to know more about it, please leave your comments below and we are more than happy to talk to you! :D

We have also reverse engineered leaf beetle and treat Greg as our biological artefact. You can check out the reverse engineering worksheet for Greg over here. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, biomimicry is the art of learning from nature. The use of biomimicry in engineering design will lead us to a path towards sustainable future. As described by Janine M. Benyus,

"The more our world functions like the natural world, the more likely we are to endure on this home that is ours, but not ours alone."

Through holistic view of biomimicry, sustainable products and technologies can be inspired from the nature. The forms, features, and working systems of an organism can be imitated and applied into our daily lives. For example, in this blog, we proposed the design on the ‘Biogas Generator for Residential Use’, based on the working mechanism of dung beetles. It’s a sustainable process as we do not only consider a particular feature of the beetle, but the overall energy transferring mechanisms. Dung beetles have the ability to digest complex organic matters into soluble forms and convert the molecules into food. We applied similar concept into the Biogas Generator. Production of biogas such as methane is carried out through anaerobic digestion.

The concept of this system is sustainable as animal manures were applied for the biogas generator. Anaerobic decomposition will release methane which can then be applied for cooking or heating. The carbon dioxide released during combustion will be utilized by plants during photosynthesis. After that, the plants will act as a food source for the animals and the cycle repeats. 

Future Work

After a reflection session among the team members, we have come to realize some of the possible future aspects from what we have done throughout these 3 months. 

1. Types of beetle 

There are around 350,000 beetle species have been documented. This means that there is so much more to explore among the beetles besides looking at Greg and his clan. Other beetles such as rhinoceros beetle is available in Malaysia and that will be another good subject for study. 

2. Design concept

Besides, biogas generator, we have presented to you some of the available researches and technologies inspired by beetles. Due to the various types of beetle species, it is feasible to employ the features and working mechanisms into different field of our human lives. However, more studies are required if we want to produce an idea which is sustainable and useful in the future.

That concludes everything on this blog. And now for the grand finale! It's time to release our friends Greg, Lisa and their classmates back to the wild.

Fly Greg, fly! We are going to miss you.

All the best in there. Just don't get eaten will ya'? 

So long Greg and all. You guys helped us a lot in this assignment, and gave us lots of fun. Thank you! 

And also to our readers. Thanks again for joining us in this wonderful ride. It may not have been a smooth ride all the way, but we truly appreciate of everyone who participated with us. We wish you good luck and all the best in your life. Till we meet again. 

So long folks~ au revoir~ adiós~ zai jian~ selamat tinggal~ and goodbye~ :D

Individual Reflection

1. What was the most interesting proposed used of biomimicry that was developed in blog? Why? 

Amir:

I think the most interesting proposed use of biomimicry mentioned in the blog is the development of a micro air vehicle. A micro air vehicle is a small scale autonomous or remotely controlled vehicle capable of flight. Micro air vehicles are designed for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance purposes. One of the MAV designs is inspired by the hind wings of Japanese Rhinoceros (Allomyrina Dichotoma).I have always been fascinated with finding new, innovative ways to air travel and discovering that we could find this sort of inspiration from Greg made me choose this as its best feature in biomimicry.

Andy:

Definitely those biogas related applications – the biogas generator and the biogas engine. I consider myself an environmentalist; a nature lover. Seeing how the dung beetles collecting animals’ excretion and turn it into their valuable resource where most other species consider it as waste had left a great impression to me. Most of the fuel resources we used are limited on Earth thus, implementing alternative and renewable resources to our daily applications would preserve those valuable fuels. Similar to the dung beetles, the concept of biogas generator and biogas engine use waste to generate methane gas which can be used to power steam engines to generate electricity; or being used for direct heating. This recycling method – making use of waste as resource is the most interesting biomimicry to me.

Jaclyn:

I think the Biogas Generator for Residential Use is the most interesting biomimicry that was developed in the blog. This application is cool and interesting as we are able to use waste to make useful product (Biogas for cooking). Besides that, the byproduct of the gas can then be absorbed back by green plants through photosynthesis. I personally think this is the most environmental friendly idea and more research should be done on it to make it a big success. By doing so, we are not only saving natural resources, we are also keeping our world cleaner and greener.  

Huey Meing: 

I find the application of biogas generator into daily residential use such as cooking and generation of electricity interesting. This is due to the ability of such application to be using renewable resources as it depends on plants such as grass which can grow back every year, compared to natural gas which is extracted from fossilized remains of plants that took millions of years. Besides, application of biogas reduces the emission of greenhouse gases compared to the process to obtain natural gases. Reduction of animal manure and waste improves hygiene of a community and prevent diseases. Commercialization of biogas will be beneficial to the nation in long term and will reduce our carbon footprint. There are some companies already using biogas generator and engine for their processes. More effort could be done to promote the usage of biogas as the sources of energy in our daily lives. It is one of the sustainable solution for our energy generation system.

Pang Chuan Yao:

In our blog one of the most interesting engineering inspiration used of biomimicry is the designing of a surveillance robot that can fly and has tough outer body to withstand external harms. Based on the reverse engineering worksheet on last week post, record about examine our study adopt life Greg about the shape and the function of each features to inspire to the designing of shape of surveillance robot based on the features of Greg. This design got its own unique features that will becoming great opportunity in investing in security system to a new level of upgrading.

2. Do you think that your design is patentable? Is it unique enough to be approved?

Amir:

Based on the facts presented in last week's reverse engineering worksheet, I think the surveillance robot design is patentable. This is because it has many unique features that has been adopted including a miniature camera, a radio transmitter for giving it command input and hind wings which allowed it to fly. Both of these features were obtained from the beetle. The camera is mounted on the robot which is small like a beetle and is able to infiltrate areas that will be hard for humans to otherwise access. Beetles and flying insects are masters of flight control, integrating sensory feedback from the visual system and other senses to navigate and maintain stable flight, all the while using little energy. The mid-air movements of free-flying insects using a radio transmitter and a miniature backpack of electronics worn by "cyborg beetles". The beetles are able to take off, land, fly to the right or left and even hover in mid-flight depending on the radio commands given to it.

Andy:

Yes, I do think that our design of biogas generator is patentable. The system that involves several processes from generating biogas to storing it and then using it is unique enough to file a patent. Although lacking of evidences on the efficiency of the system, the idea of using valves and connecting pipes to link the digester, storage tank and stove together makes the system patentable.

Jaclyn:

I think our biogas generator is definitely patentable (and we should totally patent it!) The design of the biogas generator is unique in a sense that, the whole system is able to generate, store, and use when required. A normal system would usually just be able to store and use (like a gas tank). Therefore, i think this system is unique enough to be patent. Nonetheless, more research and experiments should be conducted to identify how much biogas can be generated and how much gas can it store before patenting. 

Huey Meing: 

If we are referring to residential-use generator, there is a lack of manufacturer producing such generator due to the lack of demand. Hence, an efficient design of biogas generator specifically tailored for the residential use will be patentable. In this case, at the current stage of our proposed design, there is not enough information to predict the generated amount of the biogas per tank. Thus, tests are required before proceeding to patents of the design. 

Pang Chuan Yao:

The design can be patentable based on the design a unique type of working mechanism which can let surveillance robot carry camera with size like an insect, which can able to fit through places that human cannot fit through. Another patentable feature is the coding for the robot, as the robot can do move like a normal beetle and fly normally like a beetle.

3. Did you think that working as a team made this project easier or harder? Why? 

Amir:

I think working as a team made this project much easier as each of the group members specialized in one area such as research, writing etc. When these skills are combined together they allow better work to be done rather than doing something alone. Furthermore, the group can contribute ideas to each other in order to improve the overall research and work which will not be possible if this project was done solo. Working in a group also cultivated several important requirements that is vital for future work in the industry. This includes free communication and suggestion and accepting of responsibilities to carry out assigned tasks. Most importantly, working together helped us improve each other's work and overall helped us develop our personal characteristics and attitude towards achieving a common goal, which in this case was taking care of Greg and investigating his biomimetic impact on our lives.

Andy:

Of course it made this project easier! This is very true considering that everyone works on the common goal and interest. The idea of teamwork is to have many different perspectives and inputs that help to build and realise the design or concept. We may left out some of the important points or make mistakes if we work individually. As such, having a team to cover up each other mistakes and at the same time widen our perceptions makes executing projects easier and more efficient. 

Jaclyn:
I think team working is the most efficient way to get something done the fastest and easiest. Thus, working in a team has definitely made this project easier. With a combination of everyone's idea, great post were written. This project is not only successful, it has been fun working with everyone in the team. Lastly, I would like to thank my group mates for all their patients and hard work in making this blog so interesting and full of fun. 

Huey Meing: 

Teamwork is effective as each team member has his or her strengths and weaknesses. Distribution of tasks according to the ability of each team member made the work easier. On top of that, group discussion for exchange of opinions made the whole process a lot more interesting and fun. Different perspectives were combined and consensus were made before reaching to our final decision. Thus the blog posts were successfully published in this page. Although there are times when conflict occurs, working as a team has definitely made this project easier and I have learnt and grown together with my team members. 

Pang Chuan Yao:

Both having their own advantages but working as a team will be easier for getting the project becoming successful. One of the feature cannot do alone was providing opportunity, as a single person cannot provide as much idea as a team provided. Each team member has a responsibility to contribute equally and offer their unique perspective on an opportunity to arrive at the best way to work it out. Teamwork can lead to better decisions, products, or services. The quality of teamwork may be measured by analyzing the following six components of collaboration among team members: communication, coordination, balance of member contributions, mutual support, effort, and cohesion. A project with a good leader and his team members with six components above can provide out a good project.

Reverse Engineering Worksheet: Leaf Beetle

Howdy! It has been awhile since our last post. We had been very busy with our assignments as it is towards the end of the semester *cough* usual procrastination excuse *cough*. Nevertheless, we are back here now to update the blog with yet another interesting post.

As usual, before we are going into the main content, we should update you about Greg and Lisa. During the break, we spent some of our time bringing Greg and Lisa out to the park, of course they were still in the terrarium all the time. They seems to be enjoying the fresh air as much as we do. And guess who we met there?

Cousins of Greg and Lisa were found sunbathing, having picnic, enjoying their leisure time as well on the plants. It was a fun day for us. No matter how busy you are, remember, to always take some time to clear your mind. Go hangout or take a walk at the park. This helps to de-stress you and improve your working performance next time. Cheers~

Now back to the main content. Today we are going to present a special technique that we 'engineer-going-to-be' often use to make new things. We are going to talk about Reverse Engineering. 

What is Reverse Engineering?

• It is a technique used to learn about technologies, systems, and objects by analysing the structures & function of the components involved. 
• It is used to improve an existing product or technology.

How to apply Reverse Engineering in Biomimetics?

1. Understand on how a living thing functions in the ecosystem.
2. Analyse a living thing through its features and requirements. 
3. Apply suitable features into real life application.
4. Create a new or improved product/system/technology through bio-inspirations.

Now that we've explained on how to apply reverse engineering in general, let's look into the context of applying this technique to Greg and Lisa. Just in case you missed out the previous sessions, Greg and Lisa are leaf beetles that we've adopted as the subject of study. 

Here's the Reverse Engineering Worksheet:

That's all for now. See you next week! :)