UPDATE:My first post about Batman's use of sonar in The Dark Knight talked about the similarities between echolocation and modern sonar used to navigate and locate objects underwater. The fictional application of Batman's sonar tool was the part where every cell phone in Gotham was turned into a receiver that fed into a giant computer to find the Joker. Well guess what? We are that much closer to catching the Joker, citizens! A recent paper designed an algorithm that can use recorded echoes from an array of microphones to measure the dimensions of a room. The figure below shows the set up of microphones in their controlled test area as well as the more complex Lausanne cathedral of Switzerland. What makes this a practical criminal catching tool? First, the microphones don't have to be placed in any specific geometry, you can use whatever arrangement is handiest. Second, it has been hypothesized that this algorithm could be programmed into a cell phone app. This echo algorithm can be applied to design more realistic virtual realities or make teleconferencing sound more natural. It would also be a much faster way to measure the dimensions of a room than physically getting out a tape measure. These dimensions would be useful for architectural planning, forensics, rescue missions, and finding criminals escaped from Arkham Asylum! Or at least right now you can accurately find all the walls of the room they're hiding in, which was a big component of the sonar use in The Dark Knight. Now how do we get that cell phone feed to display in some cool goggles... Interested in trying out the code yourself to start your vigilante career? You can find it available freely online! References:
Dokmanic, I., Parhizkar, R., Walther, A., Lu, Y. M., & Vetterli, M. (2013). Acoustic echoes reveal room shape. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 1221464110
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Alanna DurkinExploring the realm of biologically inspired design one superhero example at a time, with some other natural sciences mixed in. Archives
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