Abstract

Bats are remarkable creatures and are the only mammals capable of powered flight. They are extraordinary flyers, able to travel long distances at high speeds, as well as to maneuver with extreme agility and precise control. Bats achieve this performance through a variety of morphological features, including their unique articulated wing skeleton and a lifting surface comprised of a thin highly compliant skin membrane. We will discuss several aspects of our research program. Firstly we will show some results from live animal experiments in which we track the motion of bats in a wind tunnel and correlate wing motions with fluid velocities in the wake of the bat. Secondly, we will report on physical model experiments in which we study simplified engineering models that capture some essential feature of bat flight under more controlled conditions.