Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 N Charles St., Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.
Sensors (Basel). 2021 Sep 24;21(19):6375. doi: 10.3390/s21196375.
Biological mechanosensation has been a source of inspiration for advancements in artificial sensory systems. Animals rely on sensory feedback to guide and adapt their behaviors and are equipped with a wide variety of sensors that carry stimulus information from the environment. Hair and hair-like sensors have evolved to support survival behaviors in different ecological niches. Here, we review the diversity of biological hair and hair-like sensors across the animal kingdom and their roles in behaviors, such as locomotion, exploration, navigation, and feeding, which point to shared functional properties of hair and hair-like structures among invertebrates and vertebrates. By reviewing research on the role of biological hair and hair-like sensors in diverse species, we aim to highlight biological sensors that could inspire the engineering community and contribute to the advancement of mechanosensing in artificial systems, such as robotics.
生物机械感觉一直是人工感觉系统发展的灵感来源。动物依靠感觉反馈来引导和适应它们的行为，并且配备了各种各样的传感器，这些传感器将环境中的刺激信息传递出去。毛发和类毛发传感器已经进化到可以支持不同生态位的生存行为。在这里，我们回顾了动物王国中生物毛发和类毛发传感器的多样性，以及它们在运动、探索、导航和进食等行为中的作用，这些作用表明了无脊椎动物和脊椎动物的毛发和类毛发结构具有共同的功能特性。通过回顾不同物种中生物毛发和类毛发传感器的作用研究，我们旨在强调能够启发工程界并为人工系统（如机器人）中的机械感觉做出贡献的生物传感器。
