2026-05-18T10:59:40Zhttps://keep.lib.asu.edu/oai/request

oai:keep.lib.asu.edu:node-2018832025-07-17T19:39:31Zoai_pmh:alloai_pmh:repo_items

201883 https://hdl.handle.net/2286/R.2.N.201883 http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ All Rights Reserved 2025 207 pages Doctoral Dissertation Academic theses en Nemati Noghlebari, Hamidreza Dehghan-Niri, Ehsan Marvi, Hamidreza Tao, Julian Arizona State University Partial requirement for: Ph.D., Arizona State University, 2025 Field of study: Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering The aye-aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis), a nocturnal primate endemic to Madagascar, has evolved a remarkable auditory system specialized for percussive foraging, enabling it to detect hidden cavities in wood through acoustic cues. This dissertation investigates the biomechanics and sensory adaptations underlying this unique behavior and explores its potential applications in bio-inspired nondestructive testing (NDT). The research first investigates the aye-aye’s pinna morphology and its role in enhancing near-field acoustic sensitivity. Using a robotic tap-scanning system and 3D-printed biomimetic ear structures, it is demonstrated that the aye-aye’s pinna significantly improves signal-to-noise ratio, spatial resolution, and frequency selectivity. Further studies examine the contribution of the ear canal, revealing its function as an acoustic filter that refines frequency reception and shapes the receptive field, optimizing auditory perception. Expanding these biological insights to engineering applications, a bio-inspired robotic tap-testing system is developed to enhance nondestructive evaluation (NDE) techniques. The system demonstrates superior defect discrimination when incorporating the aye-aye’s auditory morphology. Additionally, infrared thermography (IRT) is employed to analyze the aye-aye’s metabolic and sensory adaptations, highlighting the correlation between physiological changes and active foraging behavior. Finally, finite element modeling in COMSOL Multiphysics further quantified the acoustic role of the aye-aye’s head, pinna, and ear canal, revealing resonant amplification and directional binaural cues critical for sound localization. The findings of this dissertation bridge the gap between biological adaptation and engineering innovation, advancing our understanding of the aye-aye’s auditory system and laying the groundwork for next-generation bioinspired sensors, autonomous robotic inspection tools, and enhanced NDT techniques. Engineering Acoustics Bioengineering Aye-aye Bio-Inspired Design Nondestructive Evaluation Tap Testing Bio-Inspired Nondestructive Tap Testing: Exploring Aye-aye’s Acoustic Sensing Adaptation