Investigation of real-time spatial search algorisms by active sensing of bats using ultrasound

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24686050
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (A)
• Allocation Type: Partial Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Measurement engineering
• Research Institution: Doshisha University
• Principal Investigator: HIRYU Shizuko 同志社大学, 生命医科学部, 准教授 (70449510)
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 超音波 / ナビゲーション / 計測工学 / センシング

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The purpose of this study is to investigate the sophisticated behavioral sensing strategies of echolocating bats through the laboratory and field measurements using bats. We found that 1) the bats (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum nippon) actively expand their beam width depending on the situation, especially at the final stage of capturing target prey, 2) the bat species with narrow beam width more frequently shift their acoustic gaze during flight to compensate their narrower view sight, 3) the bats direct their pulse emission toward important object during obstacle avoidance flight. Furthermore, the wild bats pay their attention (pulse direction) toward not only immediate prey but also the next prey, which was also suggested by the mathematical modeling describing the flight attention.

Free Research Field

生物音響工学