Momentum - The Magazine for Virginia Tech Mechanical Engineering Vol. 3 No. 4 Winter 2018 | Page 21

Bio-inspired
technology
has team
reinterpreting
sonar signal
processing
Bats may provide the answer to a glaring problem of drone operation -
navigating in dense natural environments. As part of a five-year project
for the Office of Naval Research, mechanical engineering professors Rolf
Mueller and Michael Roan, are collaborating with three other universi-
ties to develop a better model for the sonar skills of bats.
Story & Photos by
Rosaire Bushey
Mechanical Engineering
In an effort to more effectively process sonar technology, the U.S. Navy
has turned to an unlikely source for help – bats.
In 2017 the Office of Naval Research provided a grant of more than
$7 million to a collaborative group of four universities. Led by Brown
University, Virginia Tech joined Texas A&M, and Johns Hopkins to see if
they could find a new approach to sonar signal processing. The Virginia
Tech team, supported by more than $1.7 million of the grant, is led by
Professors Rolf Mueller and Michael Roan of mechanical engineering in
the College of Engineering.
MOMENTUM
FALL 2018
PAGE 21