Crocodile inspired Dome Pressure sensor for hydrodynamic sensing

Abstract

This work is inspired by the `Dome Pressure Receptors' (DPRs), which are scattered on the skin of crocodiles, assisting them to locate the origin of disturbance, both on water surface [1] and inside the water [2]; thereby enabling them to hunt preys even in dark environment and turbid waters. In this study, a dome structure embedded with piezoelectric pressure sensors is constructed, which carries out the mechano-receptive function of DPRs for direction detection. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed dome structure could determine the direction of the origin of a disturbance.