How Bats Can Help Scientists Design Better Robots
Micronycteris microtis This common big-eared bat is eating a katydid. WikipediaBats can detect ultra-small perturbations in the air, and understanding this ability could improve sensitive detection equipment. Bats are great at hunting down prey via echolocation, in which their ultrasonic chirps bounce off anything in the air. Specialized ear designs and other features detect the returning sounds, helping the bats determine the location of a moving target. But what about when the target is still? Bats have been observed seeking out and catching inert insects hiding amid clutter, and finally scientists think they've figured out how the animals do it. The flapping motion of a bat moves the air sufficiently to ruffle the wings of their insect prey, and this trifling perturbation can be detected. Understanding the way bats do this could help improve biomimetic sensors, according to Roman Kuc, professor of electrical engineering at Yale University, and his colleague/son...