Calibration of Fish-Inspired Lateral Line Sensors

Fish have an organ called a lateral line that runs on either side of their body from their eye to their tail fin. This organ acts like a pressure sensor that allows a fish to sense quick movements around it. The lateral line organ consists of neuromasts, which are small hair-like structures connected to specific nerves in fish. When water flows over the neuromasts, the hairs bend, sending signals to the fish’s brain.This work presents a calibration experiment on an artificial lateral line (ALL) sensor received from Dr. Ajay Kottapalli from Nanyang Technological University. Calibration tests were conducted to see if these sensors are able to differentiate between various steady-state flow rates between 200 and 450 mL/min. A pump with a calibrated volumetric flow rate was used to pass water at a constant flow rate over the sensor in a pipe. The two leads on the ALL sensor were connected to a Wheatstone bridge to convert the resistance change across the sensor to a readable voltage. The relationship between the voltage difference across the Wheatstone bridge and the flow rate of water across the ALL sensor is presented as a concave down parabolic curve, with the maximum voltage difference on the Wheatstone bridge at a flow rate of 342 mL/min.This work is the start of a larger project that will consist of replicating the sensors and testing their strength, accuracy, power efficiency, scalability, and application as underwater acoustic sensors.