3D-printed bioinspired acoustic sensors for frequency decomposition

Locust ears feature a simple tympanic membrane of varying thickness adapted to detect sound energy and transduce it into electric signals that can be interpreted by the central nervous system. One of the main characteristics differentiating the locust tympanum from other insect tympana is the presence of lipid-filled cavities in specific regions of the membrane. Such a unique morphology allows the locust tympanic membrane to display specific physical behaviors that provide acoustic frequency selectivity, assisting in biological functions such as predator avoidance and swarming. An in-depth study of this feature is here presented and used to develop 3D-printed bioinspired sensors that can provide knowledge about how the characteristic morphology of natural hearing systems contributes to sound analysis at the mechanical level, and exploit it to develop sensors with a wide range of applications.