An EU-funded project carried out under the Seventh Framework Programme ICT Challenge 2: "Cognitive Systems, Interaction, Robotics".

The aim of this project is to investigate how four species of bats really use their sonar, and then imitate this accurately on a robotic base.

ChiRoPing: Developing versatile and robust perception using sonarsystems that integrate active sensing, morphology and behaviour.

EU project officer : Bjoern Juretzki.

A presentation of the main points of the project.

2002-2005: CIRCE (Chiroptera Inspired Robotic CEphaloid; IST-2001-35144) which reproduced, at a functional level, the echolocation system of bats by constructing a bionic bat head that was used to systematically investigate how the world is not just perceived but actively explored by bats. This bionic bat head is of similar size to a real bat head to reproduce the relevant physics and consist of an emission/reception system capable of generating/processing bat vocalisations in real-time, a multi-degree of freedom mechanical system to allow realistic pinnae movement.

2005-2010: CILIA (Customized Intelligent Life-inspired Arrays; IST-2005-016039), about sensory systems based on arrays of hairs. The project aims to identify the common principles underlying the widespread use in nature of arrays of mechanical sensory cells for the extraction of meaning under adverse conditions and to make those principles available for design of engineered systems.