The Secrets of Bat Echolocation Could Help Robots Navigate With Sound

This Tech Note column appeared in the December 2020 issue as "Cut the Clutter." One rainy night in March 2007, graduate student Ralph Simon found himself alone in the Cuban rainforest. He was following a hunch, based on a picture he'd seen in a magazine. He was after a specific dish-shaped leaf, which belonged to the native Marcgravia evenia vine. The leaves looked like they'd be ideal for reflecting sound, and Simon suspected they would efficiently lure bat pollinators to their flowers in the dark.