RESEARCH
LEARNING FROM THE
BRAINY BATS OF BORNEO
Mueller team brings high-speed photography to bat environments
Virginia Tech researchers have teamed up with international partners to create a state-of-the-art image capture tunnel that will provide a new level of insight in the field of biomotion . Combining the efforts of faculty and student teams , their project has yielded more than $ 800,000 in funding from the National Science Foundation to continue the work .
The effort is led by mechanical engineering Professor Rolf Mueller , who has been studying the biosonar and motion behaviors of bats for more than two decades . While working in partnership with other schools around the world to observe a wide array of species , he has grown increasingly curious about the role that bat flight plays in enabling the animal ’ s autonomous capabilities . Given that bats multitask – balancing drinking , catching insects , and other actions – while flying , using high-speed cameras to capture all of these motions happening simultaneously could enable a deeper understanding of how the animals can accomplish so many difficult tasks at the same time .
“ We ’ re looking for the ‘ secret sauce ’ behind the success of bats ,” said Mueller . “ Our interest is particularly in their ability to navigate through dense rainforests in darkness .”
An expert on bat populations around the world , Mueller knew of an ideal location to pursue further study of this question . The Brunei region of Borneo is a small area geographically , but has an extremely large and diverse population of bats . Mueller ’ s team is particularly in search of bats capable of exceptional flight maneuvering — as Mueller calls them , the “ elite ” species of bats — and many species living in Brunei offer the possibility of a rich resource of data .
“ There are 66 species of bat known to be in Brunei , and Brunei is about the size of Montgomery County ,” Mueller said . “ There are bats with wingspans from 16 centimeters up to 1.8 meters . They are exceptional .”
Mueller found research allies at the University of Brunei and its Faculty of Integrated Technology ( FIT ) who committed to building a bat house near the university , also pledging $ 200,000 in funding to get the project started . Dean of FIT Liyanage Chandratilak De Silva , FIT Associate Dean Juliana Haji Zaini , and FIT faculty member Wahyu Caesarendra played critical roles , as did Ulmar Grafe , field ecologist and director of the university ’ s Natural History Museum .
In planning creation of the image-capture tunnel , the researchers first worked to determine the kind of structure to use and how to assemble the tunnel in a place where bats were already living . To that end , Mueller created a senior design project to activate the creativity and intellect of undergraduates , and several Virginia Tech students answered the call . Senior Christian Mergl took the lead , joined by fellow mechanical engineering majors Alec Joseph Maccaro , Anuj Roy , Wenkun Liu , Armani Tagle , Jason Brannick , Spencer Kirkham IV , and Kevin Byrnes .
The plan was to capitalize on the large bat population to create
26 VIRGINIA TECH MECHANICAL ENGINEERING • ANNUAL REPORT 2020-2021