Biosonar Gives an Accurate Imaging

Biological Strategy

AskNature Team

Image: Steven Leeuw / Pixabay / Public Domain - No restrictions

Send Sound Signals

Many living systems send auditory signals to communicate with others, including to attract, announce, or warn. These sounds must be audible to the intended recipient in a variety of conditions, such as in wind, water, and solids. As a result, each living system has specific sounds best adapted to its environment. For example, some birds live in loud habitats, like those alongside noisy streams or in windy areas. These birds use sound frequencies that can be heard by other birds over competing environmental noises.

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Mammals

Class Mammalia (“breast”): Bats, cats, whales, horses, humans

Mammals make up less than 1% of all animals on earth, but they include some of the most well-known species. We know first-hand some of the characteristics that make mammals unique, like having hair, being able to sweat, and producing milk through mammary glands. Another critical shared feature is a set of highly-specialized teeth. Unlike sharks or alligators, for example, whose teeth are generally all the same size and shape, mammals have differently shaped teeth in different areas of the jaws to target specific foods or foraging strategies.

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High resolution biosonar of dolphins, bats and mole rats gives an accurate imaging by using real-time data processing.

“Biosonar animals send ultrasonic sounds called ‘pings’ into the
environment. The shape of the returning signals, or echoes, determines
how these animals ‘see’ their surroundings, helping them to navigate or
hunt for prey. In a matter of tens of milliseconds, the neurons in the
animal’s brain are capable of a full-scale analysis of their
surroundings represented in three dimensions, with little energy
consumption. Even with the aid of a supercomputer, which consumes
thousands of times more energy, humans cannot produce such an accurate
picture, Prof. Intrator says…’Animals explore pings with multiple filters or receptive fields, and we
have demonstrated that exploring each ping in multiple ways can lead to
higher accuracy,’ he explains. ‘By understanding sonar animals, we can
create a new family of ultrasound systems that will be able to explore
our bodies with more accurate medical imaging.'” (Hunka 2011:1)

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