Abstract
There is considerable evidence that pinna (external ear) shape plays a crucial role in the localisation, especially along the vertical dimension, of targets by echolocating animals. However, because of the complexity of the relation between pinna shape and localisation performance it is very difficult to design them so that the echolocator achieves specific localisation characteristics. Hence, we have developped a genetic algorithm (GA) which in conjunction with an acoustic echo simulator allows us to evolve desirable pinna shapes instead of having to design them. We use this method to evolve a rudimentary pinna that allows an echolocator, using a broadband call, to determine the vertical component of a target’s location by comparing the measured intensities at different frequencies.
H. Peremans was supported by a Marie Curie fellowship
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© 1998 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Peremans, H., Walker, V.A., Papadopoulos, G., Hallam, J.C.T. (1998). Evolving batlike pinnae for target localisation by an echolocator. In: Sipper, M., Mange, D., Pérez-Uribe, A. (eds) Evolvable Systems: From Biology to Hardware. ICES 1998. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 1478. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0057624
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0057624
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