Page 141 - Biomimetics: Technology Imitates Nature

Harun Yahya

The Fly’s Ear Will Cause a Revolution in Hearing Devices

Researchers from Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., began studying
hearing systems in nature in order to design more sensitive auditory
equipment. As a result, they realized that the ear of Ormia ochracea, and its
extraordinary design could lead to a revolution in hearing aids. The ear of
this species of fly can identify a sound’s direction in a most accurate man-
ner. As an article of U.S. National Institute on Deafness and Other
Communication Disorders describes it:
Humans were considered the best creatures at locating sounds... Because hu-
mans have six or so inches between their right and left ears, the difference be-
tween what each ear hears is greater, making it easier to compute the location of
the sound. But with its right ear only half a millimeter away from its left, Ormia
has a much bigger challenge in telling the difference. 95
Identifying the direction of sounds is essential for Ormia’s survival,
because it must locate crickets as a source of food for its larvae. The fly de-
posits its eggs atop the cricket, and its larvae feed on the insect after they
emerge.
Ormia has very sensitive ears designed to establish the location of a
chirping cricket. It can pinpoint sounds exceptionally well.
For locating sounds, the human brain uses a similar method to that
of Ormia. For this purpose, it’s enough for sound to reach the closer ear
first, then the more distant one. When a sound
wave strikes the eardrum’s membrane, it is con-
verted into an electrical signal and immediately
transmitted to the brain. The brain calculates the
milliseconds of difference between the sound’s
reaching both ears and thus determines the direc-
tion it came from. The fly, whose brain is no larg-
er than a pinhead, performs this calculation only
Ron Hoy

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