Functional role of airflow-sensing hairs on the bat wing

Sterbing, Susanne J.; Chadha, Mohit; Marshall, Kara L.; Moss, Cynthia F.

doi:10.1152/jn.00261.2016

Cited by 21 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…The membrane of bat wings is sparsely lined with microscopic hairs, which are associated with a variety of tactile receptors, including lanceolate receptors and Merkel cell neurite complexes [ 9 , 62 ]. It was found that two different species of bats, Eptesicus fuscus (big brown bat) and Carollia perspicillata (short-tailed fruit bat), altered their flight behavior in an obstacle avoidance task following wing hair depilation.…”

Section: Mechanosensory Feedback For Coordinated Locomotionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They found that E. fuscus and C. perspicillata made wider turns around obstacles and increased their flight speed after depilation, respectively [ 58 ]. These findings suggest that wing hairs act as airflow sensors that prevent stall [ 9 , 58 ].…”

Section: Mechanosensory Feedback For Coordinated Locomotionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Here, we focus on the morphology, anatomical location, and proposed functions of mechanosensory hairs in vertebrate and invertebrate species. While important knowledge comes from careful measurements of the physical properties of mechanosensory hairs, and some excellent research has been done in the area [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ], we only touch upon such measurements here, as published work is too limited to review in a comparative context. Instead, we have curated a selection of sensory hairs and hair-like structures across the animal kingdom that may provide insight or inspiration to future applications of artificial sensors.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Mechanosensory Hairs and Hair-like Structures in the Animal Kingdom: Specializations and Shared Functions Serve to Inspire Technology Applications

Boublil

Diebold

Moss

2021

Sensors

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Biological mechanosensation has been a source of inspiration for advancements in artificial sensory systems. Animals rely on sensory feedback to guide and adapt their behaviors and are equipped with a wide variety of sensors that carry stimulus information from the environment. Hair and hair-like sensors have evolved to support survival behaviors in different ecological niches. Here, we review the diversity of biological hair and hair-like sensors across the animal kingdom and their roles in behaviors, such as locomotion, exploration, navigation, and feeding, which point to shared functional properties of hair and hair-like structures among invertebrates and vertebrates. By reviewing research on the role of biological hair and hair-like sensors in diverse species, we aim to highlight biological sensors that could inspire the engineering community and contribute to the advancement of mechanosensing in artificial systems, such as robotics.

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Section: Mechanosensory Feedback For Coordinated Locomotionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Mechanosensory Feedback For Coordinated Locomotionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Mechanosensory Hairs and Hair-like Structures in the Animal Kingdom: Specializations and Shared Functions Serve to Inspire Technology Applications

Boublil

Diebold

Moss

2021

Sensors

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“…This gives a sense of the structure of the hair cells, i.e., they are 3D tapering cylinders. The receptors at the end of these hair cells are involved in sensing airflow in a directional pattern, even reverse, and turbulent airflow …”

Section: D Sensing Examples In Naturementioning

confidence: 99%

Small‐Scale Biological and Artificial Multidimensional Sensors for 3D Sensing

Agarwal

Hwang

Bartnik

et al. 2018

Small

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A vast majority of existing sub-millimeter-scale sensors have a planar, 2D geometry as a result of conventional top-down lithographic procedures. However, 2D sensors often suffer from restricted sensing capability, allowing only partial measurements of 3D quantities. Here, nano/microscale sensors with different geometric (1D, 2D, and 3D) configurations are reviewed to introduce their advantages and limitations when sensing changes in quantities in 3D space. This Review categorizes sensors based on their geometric configuration and sensing capabilities. Among the sensors reviewed here, the 3D configuration sensors defined on polyhedral structures are especially advantageous when sensing spatially distributed 3D quantities. The nano- and microscale vertex configuration forming polyhedral structures enable full 3D spatial sensing due to orthogonally aligned sensing elements. Particularly, the cubic configuration leveraged in 3D sensors offers an array of diverse applications in the field of biosensing for micro-organisms and proteins, optical metamaterials for invisibility cloaking, 3D imaging, and low-power remote sensing of position and angular momentum for use in microbots. Here, various 3D sensors are compared to assess the advantages of their geometry and its impact on sensing mechanisms. 3D biosensors in nature are also explored to provide vital clues for the development of novel 3D sensors.

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“…Bats have ultrasensitive airflow sensory organs on their wing membranes characterized by flexible, elastic, and thin properties to detect airflow condition for smooth flight. [33,34] In the sensory system, the fine hairs embedded in wing membranes can sensitively capture the tiny airflow variation and experience reversible mechanical bending displacement to rapidly trigger the Merkel cells (a slow adapting mechanoreceptor that responds to gentle touch) around the hair follicles, resulting in action current that is transmitted through nerve fibers to the central nervous system to percept airflow (Figure 1a). [35,36] The simple and effective evolved sensory structures have inspired us to design a highly sensitive and adaptive airflow sensor based on microspring effect, which is enabled by well-designed graphene/single-walled nanotubes (SWNTs)-Ecoflex membrane (GSEM).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bionic Adaptive Thin‐Membranes Sensory System Based on Microspring Effect for High‐Sensitive Airflow Perception and Noncontact Manipulation

Zhou

Xiao

Liang

et al. 2021

Adv Funct Materials

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Recently airflow sensors based on mechanical deformation mechanisms have drawn extensive attention due to their favorable flexibility and sensitivity. However, the fabrication of highly sensitive and self-adaptive airflow sensors in a simple, controllable, and scalable method still remains a challenge. Herein, inspired by the wing membrane of a bat, a highly sensitive and adaptive graphene/single-walled nanotubes-Ecoflex membrane (GSEM) based airflow sensor mediated by the reversible microspring effect is developed. The fabricated GSEM is endowed with an ultralow airflow velocity detection limit (0.0176 m s −1 ), a fast response time (≈1.04 s), and recovery time (≈1.28 s). The GSEM-based airflow sensor can be employed to realize noncontact manipulation. It is applied to a smart window system to realize the intelligent, open, and close behaviors via a threshold control. In addition, an array of airflow sensors is effectively designed to differentiate the magnitude and spatial distribution of the applied airflow stimulus. The GSEM-based airflow sensor is further integrated into a wireless vehicle model system, which can sensitively capture the flow velocity information to realize a real-time direction of motion manipulation. The microspring effect-based airflow sensing system shows significant potentials in the fields of wearable electronics and noncontact intelligent manipulation.

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Functional role of airflow-sensing hairs on the bat wing

Cited by 21 publications

References 35 publications

Mechanosensory Hairs and Hair-like Structures in the Animal Kingdom: Specializations and Shared Functions Serve to Inspire Technology Applications

Mechanosensory Hairs and Hair-like Structures in the Animal Kingdom: Specializations and Shared Functions Serve to Inspire Technology Applications

Small‐Scale Biological and Artificial Multidimensional Sensors for 3D Sensing

Bionic Adaptive Thin‐Membranes Sensory System Based on Microspring Effect for High‐Sensitive Airflow Perception and Noncontact Manipulation

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