2022 Annual Report 2022 | Page 41

United States followed in late May , funded by a National Science Foundation ( NSF ) International Research Experiences for Students project . Five of the students were from Virginia Tech : three mechanical engineering majors , one majoring in engineering mechanics , and one electrical and computer engineering major . The remaining five came from Brown , Duke , Texas A & M and Virginia State universities , as well asthe University of New York at Buffalo . An additional student from Cornell University arrived in early August .
The unanticipated COVID delay gave Mueller some extra time to expand related research . While the tunnel was being constructed in Blacksburg , Mueller mentored two additional teams of students to investigate and model fine movements of a bat ’ s ears and wings . The students used data from Mueller ’ s existing research to create one model specifically for the sonar-sensing movement of a bat ’ s ears , and a second to model the flapping of bat wings . Had the tunnel launched on time , these robotics projects would not have progressed as far as they have . Mueller saw an opportunity to bring the projects together and put the tunnel observations directly into a technology .
“ We want to fly the flapping bat robot through the tunnel just like we do for the bats ,” said Mueller . “ This will give us the opportunity to gauge how far our robot still is from the bats and decide which improvements should be tackled first .”
A robotic bat flies on a guide wire through the tunnel created by Rolf Mueller ’ s team in Brunei .
ANNUAL REPORT 2022
41