Abstract
Fish rely on flow sensors for predator avoidance, hunting, rheotaxis, and other vital functions. The cupula on top of the sensory cells of these sensors is a structure that couples the water flow close to the fish and the receptor cells by efficiently absorbing the mechanical energy contained in the stimulus. The structure and mechanical properties of the fish cupula were investigated in order to develop a bio-inspired analogue to be used for synthetic flow receptors. After having studied the biological original structure, an engineered analogue of the cupula was developed. The addition of the artificial cupula to the flow sensors improved both the response magnitude (sensitivity) and the detection threshold by almost 40 times. In the end, the bio-inspired modification resulted in engineered sensors with capabilities comparable to those of the fish flow sensors.
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McConney, M.E., Tsukruk, V.V. (2012). Synthetic materials for bio-inspired flow-responsive structures. In: Frontiers in Sensing. Springer, Vienna. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-211-99749-9_23
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-211-99749-9_23
Publisher Name: Springer, Vienna
Print ISBN: 978-3-211-99748-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-211-99749-9
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