Meeting Abstract
We conclude our symposium on bio-inspiration of silent flight of owls and other flying animals, by discussing open questions within this area, with an eye towards identifying areas of research that are not currently being addressed. Open engineering questions include: what is the role of wing flapping in the acoustics of bird flight? Does flapping fundamentally alter the airflow over a wing (such as through the leading edge comb of an owl’s wing), and its acoustic signature? On the biological side: What types of sound are owls and other silent flyers selected to reduce? What is the relationship between the adaptations to reduce flights sounds, and the hearing of the predator and prey? The final goal of this discussion is to explore bio-inspiration of silent flight. What types of biological data are most important for inspiring new directions of ‘bio-inspiration’? And what are the potential engineering applications of discoveries that may yet be made on how animals make sound as they fly?
