If it could approach the efficiencies of bat and cetacean systems, the enormous potential for acoustic engineering, has been widely recognised. Whilst some elements of animal systems have been applied successfully in engineered systems, the latter have come nowhere near the capabilities of the natural world. Recognising that engineered acoustic systems that emulate bat and cetacean systems have enormous potential, members of the BIAS consortium aim to make a breakthrough in high-resolution acoustic imaging and physical characterization.

An important focus of the work will be to tackle the critical limitation that is inherent to all current acoustic technologies, namely that detail, or resolution, is compromised by the total energy of the system. Instead of using higher energy signals, resulting in poorer sound quality, random noise and distortion, they intend to use specifically designed adaptable lower energy ‘intelligent’ signals.

The consortium will improve our understanding of acoustics, particularly with regard to signal generation and subsequent processing. It will undertake systematic basic experimental science, using well-calibrated targets based on tissues and drill core, to understand some of the acoustic features used by bats and cetaceans. This knowledge will then be applied to develop parallel features in engineering. The findings will be applied to the design of practical stand-alone or groups of transducers in conjunction with data analysis and system implementation, to selected medical and geological materials.