Overview
- Researchers combined micro-CT, advanced microscopy, computational modeling and a 3D-printed “whisker wand” to probe how geometry and material gradients shape elephant whisker sensing.
- The whiskers are thick and blade-like with a flattened cross-section, hollow bases and internal channels, forming a porous, horn-like architecture that resists impacts and compensates for bristles that do not regrow.
- A pronounced transition from a very rigid base to a very soft tip helps map contact location along each whisker, resembling cat whiskers and contrasting with the uniformly stiff, solid rodent whiskers.
- Elephants are born with about 1,000 trunk bristles anchored in wrinkles that act as feelers to support feeding and social touch despite poor eyesight and thick skin.
- The team and outside experts point to potential applications in robotics and materials science using stiffness-gradient designs, with further behavioral studies and engineering prototypes proposed.