Blog 2: Ideation and Idea Selection
- nicholasleejh05
- May 24, 2024
- 9 min read
Hello and welcome back to my blog! Today I am going to share with you more about my journey in the past few weeks and I have so much to share. Lets jump right into it!
As we recall back to the first blog, our group chose UNSDG goal 7: Affordable and Clean Energy as we felt it was the most relevant to Singapore's context. Now that our team have chosen our UNSDG goal that we wanted work on. Before we can create our chemical product, we have to gather ideas first. The best way to gather ideas is to conduct a literature review as we need to read more to gain a better understanding of the topic.
Literature Review
Reading, reading and more reading... I didn't enjoy literature review as there was way too much reading. To make things worse, getting reliable sources from websites can be difficult as some require payment. Since we had to get 5 literature review, each person in our group had to just fine one. Even though I had to just get one source, I still had a hard time finding on. However, this time I decided to change my strategy and used the DCHE SDL model I was taught, implementing it into this tasks.
Yes, I might come across as a nerdy, but I am committed to doing whatever it takes to complete the literature review successfully and to a top notch standard. Using the DCHE model has been a game changer for me as it allowed me to push further.
The first thing I had to do was to set an objective which was to find a source that had to fulfill a few criteria listed below.
Relevant and reliable
Lay a strong foundation for UNSDG goal 7
Narrow enough to eliminate the irrelevant information
Wide enough to cover information required
A good balance between sources supporting and opposing a particular aspect or argument
If you recognize these criteria, yes, they are the attributes of a good literature review. Now that we have our objective, where do we get our sources? There are plenty of of ways to obtain them, books and internet search engines to even final year projects! I decided to use Google Scholar to find my sources as it provides numerous amount of articles while filtering out irrelevant websites. While searching, I did not feel frustrated as I kept pushing myself so I could get the job done. I always referred to the criteria to ensure that it fits perfectly. Eventually, I was able to find a source that fits the criteria in less than 10 minutes.
Now that we have the sources, what's next? we have to evaluate on our research. Using the Metacognition Model of Thinking, I was able to evaluate my source. I only used the three skills which are analysis, comparison & contrasts and last but not least inferences & interpretation. Additionally, the guiding questions given were so helpful that I was able to complete it in a half amount of time than I normally would. I didn't know how useful this method can help me save so much time. With that, woohoo, we have now completed our literature review!
Project Proposal
With the literature review completed, our group immediately wrote our project proposal as there was no time to waste! Writing a project proposal felt like I was a scientist working at a research institute, trying to get the project approved. But why do we need to do a project proposal? Project proposal helps us to gain a deeper understanding on what the chemical product can do. It's like a stepping stone before moving on to the next step! There wasn't much to write for the project proposal as it was less than 100 words so we were able to complete this tasks easily. Lets move on to the next step!
Brainstorming
It is now time for brainstorming! Our group used a software called MIRO where we had to collaborate and generate a minimum of 25 ideas for our chemical product. In the end, we were able to come up with more than 25 ideas!
Brainstorming brings me back to 2021 when I did my O level design and technology subject. It reminded me of the times when I spend countless nights at home brainstorming. Generating ideas can be both exhausting and stressful as it requires a significant amount of creativity. To be honest, our group faced some troubles initially as we couldn't produce any brillant ideas. This is because overcoming the challenges of renewable energy source is difficult. However, when my lecturer encouraged us to share all kinds of ideas regardless whether they were achievable or not, it expanded our possibilities for us. This was the turning point where it got the ball rolling, additionally, since there were no ground rules placed in the group, our group eventually came up with numerous ideas. In the end, there was so much active participation and collaboration in the group. This is because everyone was having fun and we all had such a great time coming up with ideas. If you are wondering who proposed the ideas of nuclear power plant, Dyson sphere and fusion reactor, it was me and I may have went overboard with it.
So why did I proposed these kind of ideas? It all started back in the early days of 2020 when I watched a Youtube video about Dyson sphere by Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell. This video made me fall in love in engineering and innovation. Even though the Dyson sphere is beyond our technological capabilities, look how cool it is! Dyson sphere are megastructure that surrounds and harnesses the the solar energy of the Sun. It's basically made out of millions of solar panels surrounding the star, but way cooler. The Dyson sphere is the ultimate solution to solving renewable energy which I hope to see the idea come to life within my lifetime.
The video mentioned above inspired me to explore all sorts of cool ideas. One example would be a remarkable renewable energy technology that has been developing since 1951. If we can't travel to the sun to harness its energy, why not create one on Earth? Nuclear fusion reactors have to be at a very high temperature nearing those of the Sun's core and yes it's very hot. Did you know that a nuclear fusion reactor in South Korea has set a record breaking temperature of 100million degree Celsius for 48 seconds recently? That is 7 times hotter than the Sun's core! Not only that, but the best part of this technology is that it is safe. Working on a super project like nuclear fusion reactor would be a dream come true.
Feasibility Screening
Now that we have more than 25 ideas. How are we going to decide which chemical product to work on? But before that, we have to narrow it down to 2-3 ideas that are plausible in the group by using the following feasibility considerations:
Time
Budget
Technical
Operational
The 4 considerations may look simple, but it is useful in helping my group and I decide what chemical product to pursue The feasibility screening is such a simple yet crucial step! In order to be selected into the final 2-3 ideas, it must fulfill all the requirements as shown above.
Since Hydrogen Fuel Cell fulfilled all of the requirements, it is selected to the final 2-3 ideas. However, since Algae bioreactors did not fulfill all the requirements, it does not get selected. Hence, using this method allow my group and I narrow down to the final 2-3 ideas.
I personally think that the requirements covers all of the important aspects comprehensively for students from costs to time and manpower to ensure that the project is feasible. As students, I understand that our budget is small compared to that of big companies like Apple where they spend millions if not billions on a single project. Not to mention the vast number of employees, advanced equipment and wide range of skills. Nevertheless, its a great opportunity for us to learn how to work with a tight budget of only $2000. It helps us improve our money management skills and encourages us to think twice before making a decision. Hence, this teaches us to be more flexible in a project which will be very useful in the future
Moving on, with the questions provided, it was so easy for my group and I to evaluate that we did not encounter any difficulties. However, its possible that the reason is due to our ideas not being plausible? Nevertheless, we have finally narrowed down our two choices which are hydrogen fuel cell and electrolyser. Lets move on to our next step!
Engineering Decision Matrix
Wow, we have accomplished so much the previous few weeks that our group is now at the final step on deciding our chemical product! Time really do fly. Now, we have to use the engineering decision matrix called COWS and no its not the animal but an acronym.
Though I have used other tool such as SCAMPER technique, this is the first time coming across such an interesting engineering matrix. Initially, I thought that this step was going to be another step that was going to be easy but I was wrong.
My group and I chose environmentally friendly as we were making a chemical product about clean energy. Additionally, we also need it to be affordable so the operating costs of the chemical product have to be as low as possible. Hence, we decided to put both of the criteria first. My group and I also wanted the chemical product to be easily fixed, so we put maintenance as one of the criteria. That was the easy part now on to the rest of the criteria. Our group had difficulty deciding on the last 2 criteria that we changed multiple times. Even though there was some "arguments" but more of a debate, we came to a mutual agreement to research more about the criteria. Eventually, we were able to select our last 2 criteria which are ease of use and scalability.
Its time to assign the weightages based on the importance of the criteria. Since our chemical product was focusing on clean and affordable energy, we placed environmentally friendly as the highest weightage followed by operating costs. Though my group had change the weightages a few times, there were little disagreements. It is difficult to assign weightages when everyone have different priority. However, we were able to resolve the issue by justifying our reasons. In the end, my group and I decided on what chemical product to create!
Autodesk Fusion 360
Apart from the chemical product design, I have also been using a software called Autodesk Fusion 360. I remember using it back in 2022 for one of my modules during polytechnic foundation program. It was a simple project which was to create a fidget spinner.
On the right, this was my first time learning how to create a fidget spinner using Autodesk Fusion 360. Our task was to create fidget spinners with caps in the most aesthetic way possible. There were also bonus marks given if the fidget spinner could perform additional functions!
This was one of the fidget spinner idea I came up with. It was an interesting experience learning the different functions. The software felt difficult to use but I got more familiar with it overtime. Now that I think of it, its a good thing that I did not use the design on the left as it's an ugly design.
After many designs, I finally ended up with a similar design to the one on the right. Unfortunately, I was not able to find the final fidget spinner file as I lost it. The final fidget spinner was the same as the one on the right but had fillet corners. the fidget spinner had so many sharp corners which was not suitable for 3D printing.
I never expect myself to use Autodesk Fusion 360 again but here I am. Recently, I had to use it to design a key-ring tag. Even though its been a long time since I have used it before, the tasks was a breeze. This is a simple task to get me used to the software for bigger creations in the future.
It is amazing what the software can do from as simple as a Lego brick to a functioning car engine! There are many tutorials which teaches people how to create this 3D model. I will definitely practice using this software to sharpen my skills. Hence, I will be able to design something impressive for my chemical product.
With that, it is time to wrap my second blog on chemical product design. I hope you have a great time reading and not to worry there are more coming soon. But for now, see you next time. Bye bye!
References
Paddison, L. (2024) ‘artificial sun’ sets record for time at 100 million degrees celsius in latest advance for nuclear fusion, CNN. Available at: https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/01/climate/nuclear-fusion-record-korea-climate-intl/index.html (Accessed: 22 May 2024).
International Atomic Energy Agency (2016). Fusion - Frequently asked questions. [online] www.iaea.org. Available at: https://www.iaea.org/topics/energy/fusion/faqs#:~:text=A%20fusion%20reactor%20produces%20helium. (Accessed: 22 May 2024).
Byrd, D. (2018). What is a Dyson sphere? | Human World | EarthSky. [online] earthsky.org. Available at: https://earthsky.org/space/what-is-a-dyson-sphere/. (Accessed: 22 May 2024).
www.youtube.com. (n.d.). The moment UK nuclear fusion reactor set new world record for energy output. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8l43hrDcJ8. (Accessed 23 May 2024).
3D Parametric Solid Model Drawing (2023). Autodesk Inventor Tutorial || Car Engine (2Turbo V6) Advanced Assembly Designing (Volume-2). [online] YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izaypoAdDrY (Accessed 23 May 2024).
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