Bats Avoid Obstacles with Echolocation with One, Simple Technique

Obstacle avoidance may be easier than it sounds when it comes to echolocating bats. Scientists have found that these mammals can fly through complex environments in complete darkness and now, researchers are taking a closer look at this unusual feat.

Usually, it's assumed that bats localize individual obstacles by interpreting the echoes they receive back from their calls. However, in complex environments, inferring the positions of obstacles from the multitude of echoes is very challenging, and might be practically impossible.

In an effort to find an alternative explanation for the obstacle avoidance performance of echolocating bats, researchers modelled bats flying through 2D and 3D environments. These included laser scanned models of real forests. The researchers proposed an algorithm for obstacle avoidance that relies on a very simple, yet robust, mechanism. They suggested that the bat simply compares the loudness of the onset of the echoes at the left and the right ear and turns away from the side receiving the loudest echo.

These findings may just explain the way in which bats navigate. Instead of a complicated process, it may be that a simple mechanism underlies obstacle avoidance of bats. This may explain how these mammals can respond both quickly and appropriately to looming obstacles.

The findings are published in the journal PLOS Comput. Biol.

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