2011/06/20 by Susanne J. Sterbing-D’Angelo, Mohit Chadha, Chen Chiu +5 · 1 citation
Engineering · Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Environmental Science · #Biomimetic flight and propulsion mechanisms #Bat Biology and Ecology Studies #Physiological and biochemical adaptations
paper · doi:10.1073/pnas.1018740108
openalex publication_date 2011/06/20 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/21
Bats are the only mammals capable of powered flight, and they perform impressive aerial maneuvers like tight turns, hovering, and perching upside down. The bat wing contains five digits, and its specialized membrane is covered with stiff, microscopically small, domed hairs. We provide here unique empirical evidence that the tactile receptors associated with these hairs are involved in sensorimotor flight control by providing aerodynamic feedback. We found that neurons in bat primary somatosensory cortex respond with directional sensitivity to stimulation of the wing hairs with low-speed airflow. Wing hairs mostly preferred reversed airflow, which occurs under flight conditions when the airflow separates and vortices form. This finding suggests that the hairs act as an array of sensors to monitor flight speed and/or airflow conditions that indicate stall. Depilation of different functional regions of the bats' wing membrane altered the flight behavior in obstacle avoidance tasks by reducing aerial maneuverability, as indicated by decreased turning angles and increased flight speed.