From bats to drone: A Bio-Inspired SONAR System for Autonomous Flying Drones

From bats to drone: A Bio-Inspired SONAR System for Autonomous Flying Drones | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article From bats to drone: A Bio-Inspired SONAR System for Autonomous Flying Drones Yasufumi Yamada, Mutsumi Kamasako, Kanta Hasegawa, Haruka Nishiyama, and 4 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3354923/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Bats accomplish various navigation tasks, such as prey pursuit and obstacle avoidance in complex environments, using simple active sonar equipped with a single transmitter and two receivers. Their bio-sonar capabilities are optimized to aerial navigation and have shown that simple active sonar systems have the potential to be flexible in response to uncontrolled environments. In this study, an active sonar system is proposed for drones equipped with a single transmitter and two receivers, inspired by echolocating bats. This is the world’s first study to accomplish the autonomous avoidance flights with bat-compliant active sonar design. Our advanced sonar platform can emit broadband FM pulse as well as echolocation pulses by utilizing a thermoacoustic device (thermophone), enhancing the clutter noise robustness against saturated flight noise. Our solution provides not only a validation tool for echolocation researchers, but an additional option beyond visible cameras for autonomous robotics research. Biological sciences/Biological techniques/Imaging/Ultrasound Physical sciences/Engineering/Electrical and electronic engineering Thermophone LPM signal Ultrasonic sensing Cheap robust design UAV Echolocation Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files S1Text.pdf S1 Text. S1Fig.pdf S1 Fig. LPM signal superiority in the presence of negative Doppler shift effects, demonstrated by experimental results and mathematical simulations. S1Videolow.mp4 S1 Video. S2Videolow.mp4 S2 Video. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-3354923","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":249962866,"identity":"4d349c13-e6e1-49d6-a328-20bff458c1e5","order_by":0,"name":"Yasufumi 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