Bats adjust their mouth gape to zoom their biosonar field of view.

ABSTRACT: Active sensing, where sensory acquisition is actively modulated, is an inherent component of almost all sensory systems. Echolocating bats are a prime example of active sensing. They can rapidly adjust many of their biosonar parameters to optimize sensory acquisition. They dynamically adjust pulse design, pulse duration, and pulse rate within dozens of milliseconds according to the sensory information that is required for the task that they are performing. The least studied and least understood degree of freedom in echolocation is emission beamforming--the ability to change the shape of the sonar sound beam in a functional way. Such an ability could have a great impact on the bat's control over its sensory perception. On the one hand, the bat could direct more energy into a narrow sector t

SUBMITTER: Kounitsky P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4450403 | biostudies-literature | 2015 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature