Biomechanical canal sensors inspired by canal neuromasts for ultrasensitive flow sensing

Fishes use their mechanosensory lateral-line system to detect minute disturbances underwater. The lateral-lines consist of superficial and canal neuromast (SN and CN) sensory sub-systems. Unlike SNs which are exposed to external flow directly, the CNs, due to the presence of canals, have a higher immunity to noise and greater signal selectivity. In this paper, we present the design, fabrication and experimental characterization of arrays of zero-powered and ultrasensitive MEMS piezoelectric hair cell sensors encapsulated into biomimetic canals. The experimental characterization of the MEMS canal encapsulated sensors in the presence of steady and unsteady flow conditions validates the biomechanical high-pass filtering function of the canals.