Development of Artificial Lateral-line Flow Sensors

Evolved over hundreds of millions of years, many fish species rely on lateral line sensors to monitor surrounding flow fields for maneuvering and survival under water [1]. It is conjectured that fish is equipped with distance touch sense of underwater obstacles, predators, and prey. A lateral line system, shown in Fig. 1, consists of an array of distributed sensor nodes (so called neuromasts) that span the length of the fish body. Each sensor node, in turn, consists of a cluster of hair cells embedded in protective, gel-like domes. In certain fish species, the lateral line sensor nodes may be directly exposed at the surface of the skin. In others, the sensor nodes may be hidden in subdermal channels in order to minimize wear and damage. An individual biological hair cell is called a mechanoreceptor. It consists of a vertical cilium attached to a neuron. The fundamental principle of a single haircell is as follows. When the cilium of the haircell is bent by the local fluid flow, the neuron attached to the cilium stretches and produces action potentials.