Sensors and Sensing in Biology and Engineering

Biological sensors are usually remarkably small, sensitive and efficient. It is highly desirable to design corresponding artificial sensors for scientific, industrial and commercial purposes.This book is designed to fill an urgent need for interdisciplina

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Sensors and Sensing in Biology and Engineering

Springer-Verlag Wien GmbH

Friedrich G. Barth Biocenter, Institute of Zoology - Neurobiology, University of Vienna, Austria

Joseph AC. Humphrey Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA

Timothy W. Secomb Department of Physiology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA

This work is subject to copyright. AlI rights are reserved, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically those of translation, reprinting, re-use of illustrations, broad-casting, reproduction by photocopying machines or similar means, and storage in data banks.

© 2003 Springer-Verlag Wien Originally published by Springer-Verlag Wien New York in 2003 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2003 Product Liability: The publisher can give no guarantee for ali the information contained in this book. This does also refer to information about drug dosage and application thereof. In every individual case the respective user must check its accuracy by consulting other pharmaceuticalliterature. The use of registered names, trademarks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. This book is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0196067. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily refiect the views of the National Science Foundation. Cover illustration: © Nicolas Franceschini Head of a fiy in the center of a complex routing diagram used to integrate visual information about obstacles and target onboard a fiy-inspired visually-guided robot (ef. chapter 16) Typesetting: Thomson Press (India) Ltd., Chennai Printed on acid-free and chlorine-free bleached paper SPIN: 10847682 CIP data applied for With 169 partly coloured Figures

ISBN 978-3-7091-7287-2 DOI 10.1007/978-3-7091-6025-1

ISBN 978-3-7091-6025-1 (eBook)

Preface All living beings, ranging from bacteria to highly developed plants and animals and man possess sensors and sensing processes, by means of which they perceive and respond to the environments within and outside them. For all of them, sensing is critical for the guidance of their particular behavior, and for regulating metabolic, reproductive and other processes. The sensors of living organisms have been perfected by evolutionary advances and permanent "quality control" through natural selective pressures over hundreds of millions of years. This evolutionary process has led to a fascinating number and variety of sensory systems, rich in terms of design variations. Biological sensors are often remarkably selective and sensitive, and, in addition, exquisitely small. Their "designs" exhibit impressive efficiency, successfully adjusted by variation and natural selection to fulfill the needs of a particular species in its particular hab