Individual Reflection

"Throughout these 4 months of adopting the suckermouth catfish, I learned that taking care of a pet can be so much fun. I was able to observe the bahaviour of the fish in terms of feeding and also the way it swims. Personally, I think that this fish has a very unique way of sucking its food into its mouth and it very interesting to watch. Besides that, knowing that this fish is also inspired the human being to create a lens to see better in the dark has developed my interest in finding out more information regarding that. For this blog, our group decided to create a suction tube which is used to suck excess fluid in surgery. It is a unique device that mimic the sucking property of the suckermouth catfish. Although there are many suction device available in the market nowadays, this suction tube is different as it can be used manually or can be connected to the electrical source which will make it patentable. These past few months have taught me to be more patient. Working in a group have made the project easier as we can share ideas and divide the task among ourselves instead working on it alone. Eventhough we have different thoughts on how a thing should be done, however we managed to solve the problem and come up with a solution. I hope that I will have the opportunity to be involved in this kind of activity in the future. Thank you." - Ainun

"Biomimicry is the application of nature by observing and being inspired from everything natural around you. Throughout the semester of this module, Engineering Biomimetic we have learned the many applications of biomimicry such as how bees communicate and the bird flight that mimic aeronautical engineering. Apart from the learning biomimicry in class, students also responsible to study their adopted pet and has to come out with idea of the pet behaviors and features to biomimic in engineering application. In our group, we adopted catfish and we found out that its eyes and its mouth are the interesting features to biomimic in sucking application and lens application due to its ability to see in low light environment. Finally, as a team we have worked together nicely with everyone to study, and write about catfish abilities and its biomimicry. Besides, I’ve learned that teamwork has made this study blog a great success." - Aisyah

"During the entire semester for this module, I have gained a lot more knowledge on biomimicry than expected. I have not only gained knowledge on my pet, but also gained few in other species. This module has not only thought me how nature is able to inspire engineering inventions but also has broaden my mind and able to explore my mind with different ideas just by observing nature at its best. It’s a great way of educating engineering students to have broader imagination on inventing sustainable designs in the future. And not to forget, my group members! Without you guys, I wouldn’t have gained this much knowledge if it’s not having all those brain storm sessions! Thank you, once again." - Archana

"The creation of this blog documents the overall progress of our biomimicry animal, the hypotomus plecostomus also known as the suckermouth catfish. I have learnt that it is commonly known as the Bandaraya fish in our country, Malaysia due to its ability to get rid of algae problem in the aquarium thus help to clean the tank. This suckermouth catfish has also inspired me with its various biomimcry inspired designs such as surgery devices, bullet proof armour and device to see in the dark. However, in my opinion, the most interesting proposed used of the bio-mimicry of the suckermouth catfish was surgery devices and instrument. Suckermouth catfish use suction cups for underwater adhesions which may give an advantage to biorobotic suction cups in the future. Other than that this creation of blog has given me an oppurtunity to work in a team that made the project a lot easier. We ensure tasks are completed on time and we respect each other’s opinions." - Dianne


p/s : our pet has grown so much in the past 14 weeks.

Mr. Grey