Functionally graded keratin facilitates tactile sensing in elephant whiskers
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arXiv
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2025
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| author | Schulz, Andrew K. Kaufmann, Lena V. Smith, Lawrence T. Philip, Deepti S. David, Hilda Lazovic, Jelena Brecht, Michael Richter, Gunther Kuchenbecker, Katherine J. |
| author_facet | Schulz, Andrew K. Kaufmann, Lena V. Smith, Lawrence T. Philip, Deepti S. David, Hilda Lazovic, Jelena Brecht, Michael Richter, Gunther Kuchenbecker, Katherine J. |
| contents | Keratin composites enable animals to hike with hooves, fly with feathers, and sense with skin. These distinct functions arise from variations in the underlying properties and microscale arrangement of this natural polymer. One well-studied example is mammalian whiskers, elongated keratin rods attached to tactile skin structures that extend the animal's sensory volume. Here, we investigate the non-actuated whiskers that cover Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) trunks and find they are geometrically and mechanically tailored to facilitate tactile perception by encoding contact location in vibrotactile signal amplitude and frequency. Elephant whiskers emerge from armored trunk skin and shift from a thick, circular, porous, stiff root to a thin, ovular, dense, soft point. This smooth transition enables interaction with widely varying substrates, reduces wear, and increases the vibrotactile signal information generated during contact. The functionally graded geometry, porosity, and stiffness of elephant whiskers tune the neuromechanics of trunk touch, facilitating highly dexterous manipulation. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2504_07143 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Functionally graded keratin facilitates tactile sensing in elephant whiskers Schulz, Andrew K. Kaufmann, Lena V. Smith, Lawrence T. Philip, Deepti S. David, Hilda Lazovic, Jelena Brecht, Michael Richter, Gunther Kuchenbecker, Katherine J. Biological Physics Materials Science Tissues and Organs Keratin composites enable animals to hike with hooves, fly with feathers, and sense with skin. These distinct functions arise from variations in the underlying properties and microscale arrangement of this natural polymer. One well-studied example is mammalian whiskers, elongated keratin rods attached to tactile skin structures that extend the animal's sensory volume. Here, we investigate the non-actuated whiskers that cover Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) trunks and find they are geometrically and mechanically tailored to facilitate tactile perception by encoding contact location in vibrotactile signal amplitude and frequency. Elephant whiskers emerge from armored trunk skin and shift from a thick, circular, porous, stiff root to a thin, ovular, dense, soft point. This smooth transition enables interaction with widely varying substrates, reduces wear, and increases the vibrotactile signal information generated during contact. The functionally graded geometry, porosity, and stiffness of elephant whiskers tune the neuromechanics of trunk touch, facilitating highly dexterous manipulation. |
| title | Functionally graded keratin facilitates tactile sensing in elephant whiskers |
| topic | Biological Physics Materials Science Tissues and Organs |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.07143 |