Program Manager: Todd Hylton, Ph.D.
 Biology is replete with sensory structures that detect a multitude of stimuli, such as changes in temperature, pressure, or flow. The majority of these stimuli are of great military relevance. Furthermore, the biological sensors usually possess sensitivities that surpass synthetic counterparts and do so with inexpensive, conformal materials in a high noise background. It is clear that further investigation is warranted in order to understand the underlying biological principles and apply these principles to the creation of more advanced, more capable synthetic sensors.
The Biological Sensory Structure Emulation (BioSenSE) Program is designed around the concept of understanding biological sensory structures through advanced characterization and emulating, or transferring, this knowledge to the creation of superior synthetic sensors. This emulation can be accomplished through a direct process such as when a biological macromolecule is used directly in a synthetic sensor, creating a hybrid approach. Alternately, emulation can be accomplished through an indirect process, i.e., the final device contains nothing biological but the design, signal processing, and materials were inspired by the biological equivalent.
The current focus of the program is to develop an artificial lateral line array for submersible vehicles that enables passive flow sensing capabilities. The lateral line array is inspired by natural lateral lines found in fish that enable such unique capabilities as navigation for blind cave fish. The system will consist of a large array of individual, micron-sized artificial haircells coupled to a biologically inspired processing algorithm. Tests will be performed to assess the performance of the artificial lateral line in wake tracking and collision avoidance scenarios
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