Underwater Sensors to Simulate Fish

Research is under progress to develop underwater sensing devices having an audible capacity, similar to fish. For instance, the Atlantic bluefin tuna swims about 30 mph continuously, but it possesses only a few hearing organs.

The scientists are exploring this particular feature of the tuna and are investigating whether it has the potentiality to hear auditory signals and locate the direction of the source over the noise produced by the water flow against their bodies, as part of a naval project.

According to Michael Traweek, program manager, this specific understanding will result in the development of miniature, economical sensing arrays for the Navy. The Office of Naval Research and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency have collaboratively generated single-crystal elements for the development of highly receptive, condensed sensing devices. Traweek remarked that these systems are compromised by vibrational sounds of the water flow.

The ONR has invited various industries for the evaluation of this particular characteristic of the fish for the advancement of underwater sensing devices, as part of a science and technology conference that has been conducted recently. The Navy has obtained six white papers on this subject. The submissions will be evaluated for the annual challenge competition.

Source: http://www.onr.navy.mil