Harbor seals have unique wavy whiskers with asymmetric oscillations along the profiles and an elliptical cross section. This shape is key to their high sensitivity; harbor seals can track a fish with a 30s head start in front of it using solely their whiskers for sensing. An artificial whisker sensor with the unique hydrodynamic properties of a seal whisker would enable an underwater vehicle to sense and maneuver without emitting sound or light, reducing energy requirements and being less obtrusive. These sensors have the potential to be low cost, power efficient, and highly sensitive. The goal of this study is to quantify how the harbor seal whisker’s shape relates to the sensing mechanism and to implement this geometry with existing sensor architecture.

I hope to improve my communication skills and ability to steer a research project towards future innovation. I am excited to learn about research outside of my field – I can’t wait to see how I am able to incorporate the new technologies and methods I learn from my peers in my own work. With my project, I have only studied fluids in the classroom prior to this work, so I am excited to apply that knowledge to an unsolved question.