Reflection on MEC1281 Effective Communications

In the beginning I felt that this course wouldn’t be able to give me a lot of benefits. I’d thought that this module would be similar to a module that I had previously taken back when I was still in polytechnic. But as the lesson progressed on, I began to have a change of heart. This module made me realised that presentations that are short and simple is actually the best way to bring a point across. Also, I was able to work on and improved on doing verbal presentations to others and also correct the mistakes that I didn’t knew how to correct previously. I was also able to learn how to pick out the important points in a long article/passage to make it into a short and precise summary.

Initially I going into the project phase I was excited to work with Syafiq and Mikaiel. However due to circumstances, I did the project phase with Jun Kai, Xuan Ju and Saif instead. As luck would have it, they were also doing something that was similar to what I was doing with my previous group. Working on “AI_Whirlpool” has been a fun and very interesting experience. Having given the opportunity to be able to pitch in ideas to help improve a product that has been proven beneficial to our environment gave me a sense of pride. Working on this project has made my presentation preparation skills better as I have learnt how to exclude out unnecessary length in my slides and that with just a word or a picture, I can paint out the bigger picture to others using my presentation skills alone. I was also satisfied that my presentation skills got even better and that I now have an even better understanding of how a good presenter.

Annotated Summary Draft #1

This article focuses on the effectiveness of Seabin. The article stated that the Seabin is smaller in size as compared to the typical normal everyday garbage bag but it can hold 20kg of waste at one go. It also states that on a normal day with good weather, it can hold up to 1.5kg of debris but it doesn't amount to much compared to the remaining 2 million kg of plastics constantly getting thrown out to the sea. However, mass orders were received by the team by 330 marines in 170 countries, leading to a potential 70,000 tonnes of marine debris being removed yearly once the orders are met and in effect.

The article also focused on the waste collected by Seabin itself in the ocean. Amongst the massive debris collected by the Seabin, cigarette butts are the most common waste, standing at 29%. Followed by plastic fragments at 28% and food wrappers at 26%. Other common items collected are foam plastics, bottle caps, straws, stirrers, cans and plastic bags. It also sucks in oil and traps very tiny microfibers. After being implemented in Singapore for over a day, it had already collected a decent amount of waste, including a massive amount of nurdles. Other than Singapore, Seabin has also been proven effective in other major countries like United States, United Kingdom, etc.

Reference:

Eco. (2018, April 11). The Seabin won't swallow Asia's plastic pollution problem but it's a start. Retrieved from https://www.eco-business.com/news/the-seabin-wont-swallow-asias-plastic-pollution-problembut-its-a-start/

Technical Report Draft #1

Enhancement of the Mobility of the Seabin Project by Integrating a Sea Drone

Executive Summary 

This report is written in response to a letter of authorization dated xxxxxx, and aims to convince the Seabin Project Team that the proposed adaptations are of utmost importance in enhancing the mobility features and adopting a hydroelectric generator for the AI_Whirlpool.

The Seabin has been able to provide practical and tangible solutions to reduce plastics in our ports and marinas, which is one of the world-level problems. However, The Seabin functions as a stationary machine that does not have a self-sufficient power supply as it draws its power from a 6m cable. This report discusses Seabin V5, which acts as a floating garbage bin that skims the surface of the water to collect floating, debris, macro and micro plastics and even micro fibres with an additional filter. This report also captures the possible areas of improvements based on the combinations of different concepts as well as the benefits of these combinations.

Upon researching the Seabin project, we learned that the team intends to be dynamic by harnessing the knowledge and experience of the across the world in this particular field of study. In order to further spread the idea of the project, community activation, education programs, data collection, scientific research and technology are main factors of influence. 

The proposed modifications for the AI_Whirlpool area combination of Seabin, water drone and an upgrade of utilizing the hydroelectric generator. This will vastly improve the rate ocean trash cleaned up per day and reduce the amount of electricity used per day. Furthermore, marketing this product will increase the awareness on water pollution and its world-level threats.

Background

According to the Seabin Project (2019), the Seabin machine is a floating device that is able to collect up to 50,000 plastic bottles a year It works by moving up and down the tide,sucking up the  floating rubbish like a vacuum cleaner. The main goal of Seabin technology is to capture all surrounding debris ,remove considerable amounts of microplastics and prevent the particles from breaking down into smaller pieces in the sea. The Seabin has the capability of collecting litter up to 3.9kg per day. Seabin Project (2019) The global project for Seabin has a total of 719 units with more than 10 based in Sydney. These units help to collect 2 tons of waste a day. 

However, even with such cleaning features, the Seabin is lacking in its mobility. The current Seabin technology is attached to a 6m cable, which requires it to be planted in areas that have power sources. Due to the 6m electrical cable, many companies might choose other clean-up devices such as Jellyfish bot or Manta Trawl. The clean-up devices are able to collect ocean trash beyond the Seabin’s cleaning perimeters as they are deployed from a movable boat or they are remotely controlled.

With the added mobility, the Seabin will be able to operate on different water bodies and it might also serve as a tool to allow people of all ages to contribute in the cleaning effort. For example, the children under adult supervision could operate the device as well, leading to a good learning opportunity. A mobile Seabin could pick up an additional 30% trash. According to 100 Ocean Pollution Statistics & Facts (Condor Ferries, n.d.), 15% of ocean trash is floating and an additional 15% are found on beaches.

By including a hydroelectric generator, Seabin will obtain a way to self-sustain its energy supply by eco-friendly means. By making use of the waterflow caused during the cleaning process, the generator will be remaining turning hence, producing electricity. Electricity produced via this method can be used to power the Seabin’s pump and also the water drone, lasting it for as long as it needs to complete its tasking.

A battery will be put in place to serve 2 purposes. Firstly, to jumpstart the water drone before the hydroelectric generator takes over in supplying the power and secondly, to serve as a fail-safe to prevent total power failure. In the event where the hydroelectric generator is unable to sustain the water drone or Seabin’s pump resulting in the product being stranded out in the open water, it would become bad for the company as the drone might be lost forever out in the ocean.

Problem statement

Comparing Seabin to Jellyfish bot or Manta Trawl, the 2 mentioned devices are able to travel to the ocean for clean up via remote control. The Seabin is stationed in ports and marinas connected to a power source by a 6m electrical cable. Due to the length of the cable, it lacks mobility. A self-sustaining battery is required to power the pump for its suction. To address this problem, additional features such as combining movable drones and hydroelectric generators should be implemented for sustainability. 

Purpose statement

This report is a proposal to the Seabin Team to integrate water drones, a hydroelectric generator and a reserved battery to give Seabin mobility.This could make it be viable for a broader range of water bodies as well as having a self-sustaining means.

Proposed modifications

The current Seabin has a unique suction feature to filter out the debris and oil waste. By integrating mobility, the Seabin’s performance of the clean-up process will increase significantly. These integration features will make the Seabin mobile. Implementing a reserved battery to start up and a hydroelectric generator will make the Seabin self-sustaining for its energy.

Water drone

First key enhancement to the seabin is attaching a water drone onto it. The marine drone that we selected for the modification is the Jellyfish-bot. Due to its structure of the design which we intended to place the bin under the water drone itself and it is also an ocean clean-up effort device that is used in the marinas. Due to the possibility of it being lost in the sea a GPS tracking device is essential to be equipped on it.  Refer to figure 1 on the water drone.

Figure 1. “An innovative robotic solution for collecting marine waste” by IADYS (n.d.) 

Reserved battery

Another enhancement to the seabin is to add a reserved battery onto the water drone and Seabin, allowing it to jump start the water drone and Seabin and to prevent total power failure. See Figure 2 for .  

Hydroelectric Generator

Keeping the energy-level of the Seabin self-sustainable is the additional feature of a hydroelectric generator. (Refer to figure 2 on the hydroelectric generator). It generates electricity through energy conversion by utilising the flow of water. Electricity generated will be used to charge the battery, which runs both the suction of the seabin and the water drone. This gives the device the ability to self-sustain. Furthermore, Seabin with these attachments can be considered eco-friendly as it uses natural resources to generate its own electricity. 

Figure 2 

Design  

The Seabin V5 will be positioned under the centre of the water drone (Jellyfish bot) for its stability. Hydroelectric generators will be attached to the bottom of Seabin so that when the water drone moves, the strong current will spin the turbines that are connected to the hydroelectric generator that will then generate power to the batteries of our water drone. 

Functionality 

The AI_Whirlpool is either being controlled by a controller or auto-pathing. When it starts to move around the water bodies, the hydroelectric generator starts to generate electricity to power the suction of the seabin as well as charge the reserve battery used to support the drone and seabin suction.

Benefits

The efficiency of the current seabin product will be greatly increased. Instead of using it at a stationary position, it could move around to do clean up. Hence, there will no longer be a need for more stationary seabin to be planted near the marinas/port as this AI_whirlpool can be used to move around and clean the debris around it. In addition, AI_whirlpool is a self-sustaining product with the added hydroelectric generator which is able to generate electric energy by energy conversion.   

Evaluation

Despite all the benefits of adding a drone, hydroelectric generator and a reserved batteries, the team continues to foresee some challenges 

The additional water drone, hydroelectric generator and reserved batteries will increase the cost of production. It also requires the design team to remodel its product so that it will be able to integrate these features together. However, this will further increase its cost. The increase in the cost of production will increase the retail price of the AI_Whirlpool, which increases the chances of losing in the price competition against its competitors. Furthermore, the increase of the integration will lead to a heavier device and reduction in how much payload it can support. As a heavier load requires more generators for power and more generators required results in heavier load, this leads to a vicious endless cycle.

Since water drones are an existing product in the market, minor modification will be required to be combined with the Seabin. The reserved battery would not be considered as a heavy load as its sole purpose is to act as an emergency source to water drones. According to the Seabin Project (2020), Seabin has currently raised up to $1.35 million and 1249 members of the community have invested in Seabin Projects. Furthermore, Both Seabin and Jellyfish bot can be purchased from a local Singapore company “Asiatique Yacht Supplies”.

Concluding statement

In conclusion, the combination of the Jellyfish bot and the adaptation of the hydroelectric generator should be implemented to make Seabin V5 a mobile and self-sustaining device. These modifications allows Seabin V5 to have a sustained period of usage and move around the water with ease. If the Seabin implements these modifications on the Seabin V5, This will allow the Seabin to become the ideal water-cleanup machine that swiftly cleans up the water from one zone to another. This modification will also ensure that AI_Whirlpool will be the Sea-cleaner of choice for the users.

References

Sydney Wharf Embraces Seabin Technology. (2019, October 8). Retrieved 2 March 2020 from, https://seabinproject.com/sydney-wharf-embraces-seabin-technology/

CondorFerries. (n.d.). 100 Ocean Pollution Statistics & Facts (2020). Retrieved March 2, 2020, from https://www.condorferries.co.uk/marine-ocean-pollution-statistics-facts

https://www.iadys.com/en/ 

https://www.facebook.com/927473997320061/posts/2866949606705814/

http://www.asiatiqueyachtsupplies.com/jellyfishbot.html

https://www.boatindustry.com/news/32526/jellyfishbot-a-versatile-robot-to-clean-your-marina-and-more

Design Summary_Analysis Final Draft

In the article, "The RoboBees Flies Solo," Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Science (2019) addressed researchers’ breakthroughs to a decade-long process of making a self-sustaining miniature flying autonomous vehicle.

According to the article, the researchers faced difficulty in finding the perfect balance between mass and power at such a tiny scale, where efficient flight is proven to be much harder to achieve.

Throughout the decade, researchers working on this project made several important and major additions to the design of the vehicle such as including an additional pair of wings and making adjustments to the actuator and transmission ratio and thus enabled them to “put everything we need on-board without using more power, ” as Jafferis stated in the article .

This particular change in the project allowed researchers to remove the power cord and add solar cells, allowing RoboBees to achieve a self-sustaining function and fly untethered.

Although the article provided us with the information on how untethered flight was achieved, it failed to provide explanations on how such changes would benefit users as well as assurance that with the implementation of such changes, our society stand to reap more benefits

One missing aspect from the article is the practicality of the changes they made for the Robobees. It mentioned that it made changes to the actuator and transistor ratio and by doing so they were able to generate more lift and "put everything they need on-board without using more power" but it missed out on mentioning the impact that such an improvement has towards society. As pointed out by Mario (2019) "drones can carry impressive loads, because it is their original purpose and these batteries are designed to handle that extra weight and so they don’t lose flight time" although the actuator and transmission ratio provide more lift, it doesn’t necessarily provide the speed needed for rescue effort nor does it provide the ability to carry heavy load for agricultural effort.

The article is also missing out on how the changes to the battery is beneficial to society. It stated “The Robobee X-Wing needs the power of about three Earth suns to fly, making outdoor flight out of reach for now. Instead, the researchers simulate that level of sunlight in the lab with halogen lights.” Through this statement it tells us that the Robobees aren’t going to be useful in outdoor conditions as they can only fly under controlled environment.

The article is also lacking in assurance that Robobees can be more beneficial than harmful. As bees are currently about to face extinction, the presence of such robotics bees may not aid our effort in trying to preserve these real small insects as pointed out by Perry (2016) "Will we become more lax with environmental regulations, now that we know we have a replacement for bees?" Similar to when Albert Nobel first created dynamite for good purposes, Robobees which were created with good intentions might end up in the wrong hands and that could result in devastating results as quoted by Hyman (n.d.) "What’s stopping someone from using them for espionage? With their small and efficient bodies and ability to control themselves, they’d be very worthy allies for intelligence agencies and experts in corporate espionage." 

In conclusion, this article will only be beneficial for researchers interested in the backstory and progress of the creation of a miniature untethered flying drone but it will not appeal to general public.

Sources:

Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. (2019, June 26). The RoboBee flies solo: Cutting the power cord for the first untethered flight. ScienceDaily. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/06/190626133712.htm

Hyman, W. (n.d.). Robobees: The Autonomous Flying Micro-robots. Retrieved from https://pitt.edu/~wsh9/essay.html

Mario. (2019, December 05). How Much Weight Can a Drone Carry? Retrieved from https://www.dronetechplanet.com/how-much-weight-can-a-drone-carry/

Perry, P. (2016, October 12). Harvard’s Robobees Could Save Us or Become a Method for Surveillance. Retrieved from https://bigthink.com/philip-perry/harvards-robobees-could-save-us-in-a-crisis-or-become-a-new-method-for-surveillance

Design Summary_Analysis Draft #2

In the article, "The RoboBees Flies Solo," Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Science (2019) addressed researchers’ breakthroughs to a decade-long process of making a self-sustaining miniature flying autonomous vehicle.

According to the article, the researchers faced difficulty in finding the perfect balance between mass and power at such a tiny scale, where efficient flight is proven to be much harder to achieve.

Throughout the decade, researchers working on this project made several important and major additions to the design of the vehicle such as including an additional pair of wings and making adjustments to the actuator and transmission ratio and thus enabled them to “put everything we need on-board without using more power, ” as Jafferis stated in the article .

This particular change in the project allowed researchers to remove the power cord and add solar cells, allowing RoboBees to achieve a self-sustaining function and fly untethered.

Although the article provided us with the information on how untethered flight was achieved, it lacks explanations on how such changes would benefit users as well as assurance that with the implementation of such changes our society stand to reap more benefits

(support idea) In the article, it stated that it made changes the actuator and transmission ratio yet it did not mention how this can help in agricultural practices or for rescue efforts. The article only mentioned that by doing so they are able to generate more lift and "put everything they need on-board without using more power" but did not mention the purpose of taking such a step. This information will not be useful for farmers as they do not know what is the purpose of having a better actuator and transmission ratio. Although the actuator and transmission ratio provides more lift, it doesn't provide the speed needed for rescue effort and also it doesn't provide the ability to carry heavy load for agricultural effort. The article also doesn't provide us with how long the robot can last before running out of battery and also in order for the robot to maintain it's untethered flight, it needed "the power of three Earth suns to fly", which makes it difficult for it to be used for any kind of outdoor purposes as of present. Mario (2019) pointed out "drones can carry impressive loads, because it is their original purpose and these batteries are designed to handle that extra weight and so they don’t lose flight time" yet with so much limitations, mainly the battery life, Robobees wouldn't be able to handle carrying loads as it could barely even sustain itself.

The article also doesn't provide us with the assurance that the Robobees will be more beneficial than harmful. As bees are currently about to face extinction, the presence of such robotics bees may not aid our effort in trying to preserve these real small insects. Also similarly to when Albert Nobel first created dynamite with good intentions, Robobees which were created with good intentions might end up in the wrong hands and that could results in devastating results. As pointed by Perry (2016) mentioned "Will we become more lax with environmental regulations, now that we know we have a replacement for bees?" Similarly, Hyman (n.d.) mentioned "What’s stopping someone from using them for espionage? With their small and efficient bodies and ability to control themselves, they’d be very worthy allies for intelligence agencies and experts in corporate espionage." 

In conclusion, this article may have provided us with the scientific aspect of the changes, it however proved to be missing out on the practicality and impact of the changes when the changes are implemented.

Sources :
Mario. (2019, December 05). How Much Weight Can a Drone Carry? Retrieved from https://www.dronetechplanet.com/how-much-weight-can-a-drone-carry/

Perry, P. (2016, October 12). Harvard’s Robobees Could Save Us or Become a Method for Surveillance. Retrieved from https://bigthink.com/philip-perry/harvards-robobees-could-save-us-in-a-crisis-or-become-a-new-method-for-surveillance

Hyman, W. (n.d.). Robobees: The Autonomous Flying Micro-robots. Retrieved from https://pitt.edu/~wsh9/essay.html

Design Summary_Analysis Draft #1

In the article, "The RoboBees Flies Solo," Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Science (2019) addressed researchers’ breakthroughs to a decade-long process of making a self-sustaining miniature flying autonomous vehicle.

According to the article, the researchers faced difficulty in finding the perfect balance between mass and power at such a tiny scale, where efficient flight is proven to be much harder to achieve.

Throughout the decade, researchers working on this project made several important and major additions to the design of the vehicle such as including an additional pair of wings and making adjustments to the actuator and transmission ratio and thus enabled them to “put everything we need on-board without using more power, ” as Jafferis stated in the article .

This particular change in the project allowed researchers to remove the power cord and add solar cells, allowing RoboBees to achieve a self-sustaining function and fly untethered.

Although the article provided us with the information on how untethered flight was achieved, it lacks explanations on how such changes would benefit users as well as assurance that with the implementation of such changes our society stand to reap more benefits

(support idea) In the article, it stated that it made changes the actuator and transmission ratio yet it did not mention how this can help in agricultural practices or for rescue efforts. The article only mentioned that by doing so they are able to generate more lift and "put everything they need on-board without using more power" but did not mention the purpose of taking such a step. This information will not be useful for farmers as they do not know what is the purpose of having a better actuator and transmission ratio. Although the actuator and transmission ratio provides more lift, it doesn't provide the speed needed for rescue effort and also it doesn't provide the ability to carry heavy load for agricultural effort. The article also doesn't provide us with how long the robot can last before running out of battery and also in order for the robot to maintain it's untethered flight, it needed "the power of three Earth suns to fly", which makes it difficult for it to be used for any kind of outdoor purposes as of present. Mario (2019) pointed out "drones can carry impressive loads, because it is their original purpose and these batteries are designed to handle that extra weight and so they don’t lose flight time" yet with so much limitations, mainly the battery life, Robobees wouldn't be able to handle carrying loads as it could barely even sustain itself.

The article also doesn't provide us with the assurance that the Robobees will be more beneficial than harmful. As bees are currently about to face extinction, the presence of such robotics bees may not aid our effort in trying to preserve these real small insects. Also similarly to when Albert Nobel first created dynamite with good intentions, Robobees which were created with good intentions might end up in the wrong hands and that could results in devastating results. As pointed by Perry (2016) mentioned "Will we become more lax with environmental regulations, now that we know we have a replacement for bees?" Similarly, Hyman (n.d.) mentioned "What’s stopping someone from using them for espionage? With their small and efficient bodies and ability to control themselves, they’d be very worthy allies for intelligence agencies and experts in corporate espionage." 

In conclusion, this article may have provided us with the scientific aspect of the changes, it however proved to be missing out on the practicality and impact of the changes when the changes are implemented.

Sources :
Mario. (2019, December 05). How Much Weight Can a Drone Carry? Retrieved from https://www.dronetechplanet.com/how-much-weight-can-a-drone-carry/

Perry, P. (2016, October 12). Harvard’s Robobees Could Save Us or Become a Method for Surveillance. Retrieved from https://bigthink.com/philip-perry/harvards-robobees-could-save-us-in-a-crisis-or-become-a-new-method-for-surveillance

Hyman, W. (n.d.). ROBOBEES: THE AUTONOMOUS FLYING MICRO-ROBOTS. Retrieved from https://pitt.edu/~wsh9/essay.html

RoboBees Summary First Draft

In the article, "The RoboBee Flies Solo," Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Science (2019) addressed researchers’ breakthroughs to a decade-long process of making a self-sustaining miniature flying autonomous vehicle.

According to the article, the researchers faced difficulty in finding the perfect balance between mass and power at such a tiny scale, where efficient flight is proven to be much harder to achieve.

Throughout the decade, researchers working on this project made several important and major additions to the design of the vehicle such as including an additional pair of wings and making adjustments to the actuator and transmission ratio and thus enabled them to “put everything we need on-board without using more power, ” as stated in the article by Jafferis.

This particular change in the project let researchers remove the power cord and adding solar cells, allowing RoboBee to achieve a self-sustaining function and also fly untethered.

Formal Introductory Letter

Subject: Self-introduction

Dear Prof Blackstone,

I am writing this self introductory letter to let you know more about me. My name is Phua Jia Dang and I'm currently a first year student pursuing a Mechanical Engineering Degree in Singapore Institute of Technology after graduating from Singapore Polytechnic with a diploma in Mechatronics and Robotics Engineering. My interest for engineering first developed after I realized I preferred working things out with my hands and experience back when I was younger. This interest was further developed during my time back in my robotics club that I was a part of back in my secondary school days, which paved the way for my engineering career.

My strength when it comes to communication would be my ability to project myself as looking and feeling confident. I am able to project myself with a certain degree of confidence when speaking to other people on topics that I have knowledge of. On the other hand, my weakness when it comes to speaking to other people would be that I will tend to be wary of the watchful eyes of the audience and I will start to become increasingly shy, which in turn will cause me to lose confidence and I will start to speak softer and stutter.

My ideal outcome after attending effective communications would be to maintain and continue to speak with confidence in front of any crowd, which I feel is a very important skill to obtain as this will help me during meeting presentations in front of my superiors. Also I would also want to learn how to speak clearly and effectively so that I will be able to project my ideas and intend properly as this can help prevent any miscommunication in my future workplace.

From,
Jia Dang