Need To Track A Submarine? A Harbor Seal Can Show You How

Scientists find that the whiskers of harbor seals help them distinguish predator from prey -- even from a distance. Scientists find that the whiskers of harbor seals help them distinguish predator from prey -- even from a distance. Using lessons learned from harbor seals and artificial intelligence, engineers in California may be on to a new way to track enemy submarines. The idea started with research published in 2001 on the seals. Scientists at the University of Bonn in Germany showed that blindfolded seals could still track a robotic fish. The researchers concluded that the seals did this by detecting the strength and direction of the whirling vortex the robot created as it swam through the water.