Dieter Frans S. Vanderelst

SBBE, Sensory ecology, models of bat echolocation and flight control, robotic and computational models of animal behaviour and perception. Models of human cognition.

MSc: Ugent Belgium, (Theoretical Psychology)

MSc: KUL Belgium, (Artificial Intelligence)

Ph.D.: UA Belgium, 2012 (Biology)

The echolocation system of bats is limited in a number of important ways. It has a low update rate, a small "field of view" and a limited temporal resolution. Nevertheless, echolocating bats  are able to fly swiftly through vegetation, navigate changing environments, recognise objects and forage on the wing. In spite of intense efforts over the past 50 years, the sensorimotor algorithms underlying bat sonar remain only partly understood. I want to understand how, in spite of the limitations of their sensory system, bats are able to deal with the challenges that result from living in complex and changing environments. In other words, I want to know how bats deal with the limitations of their sonar system.

In my research, I use both simulation methods, artificial sonar systems and robots to research the sensorimotor loops underlying bat biosonar. In addition, I believe that by studying bat sonar the performance gap between artificial and biological sonar can be substantially reduced.

Besides bats and echolocation, my interests include bio-inspired artificial intelligence and models of cognitive functions both in humans and in animals.

Publication list on Research gate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Dieter_Vanderelst

Selected publications:

Vanderelst, D., Steckel, J., Boen, A., Peremans, H. and Holderied, M. W. Place recognition using batlike sonar eLife, eLife Sciences Publications Limited, 2016, Vol. 5, pp. e14188

Vanderelst, D., Holderied, M. W. and Peremans, H. Sensorimotor Model of Obstacle Avoidance in Echolocating Bats PLoS Comput Biol, Public Library of Science, 2015, Vol. 11(10), pp. e1004484

Bartenstein, S. K., Gerstenberg, N., Vanderelst, D., Peremans, H. and Firzlaff, U. Echo-acoustic flow dynamically modifies the cortical map of target range in bats Nature communications, Nature Publishing Group, 2014, Vol. 5

Vanderelst, D., Lee, Y.-F., Geipel, I., Kalko, E. K., Kuo, Y.-M. and Peremans, H. The noseleaf of Rhinolophus formosae focuses the Frequency Modulated (FM) component of the calls
How nature shaped echolocation in animals, Frontiers E-books, 2014, pp. 55

Vanderelst, D., Reijniers, J., Firzlaff, U. and Peremans, H. Dominant glint based prey localization in horseshoe bats: a possible strategy for noise rejection PLoS Comput Biol, Public Library of Science, 2011, Vol. 7(12), pp. e1002268

Reijniers, J., Vanderelst, D. and Peremans, H. Morphology-induced information transfer in bat sonar Physical review letters, APS, 2010, Vol. 105(14), pp. 148701

Vanderelst, D., De Mey, F., Peremans, H., Geipel, I., Kalko, E. and Firzlaff, U. What noseleaves do for FM bats depends on their degree of sensorial specialization PloS one, Public Library of Science, 2010, Vol. 5(8), pp. e11893

Grant: #DRL-1759150 Investigators:Layne, John; Maynard, Kathie; Peteet, Bridgette; Rollmann, Stephanie; Vanderelst, Dieter 08-01-2018 -07-31-2021 National Science Foundation Strategies: Trans-disciplinary Education in Biology and Engineering Technology Role:Collaborator $1,198,120.00 Active Level:Federal

Grant: #FS-18-048 Investigators:Cohen, Kelly; Kumar, Manish; Vanderelst, Dieter 04-18-2018 -12-31-2018 Department of Homeland Security SCITI UAV Innovator Subcontract SUAVE Role:Collaborator $50,000.00 Active Level:Federal

Grant: #IOS-2034885 Investigators:Vanderelst, Dieter 09-01-2021 -08-31-2024 National Science Foundation Principles of intelligent sensorimotor behavior under informational constraints - AWARDED 5/5/21 2034885 Role:PI 600407.00 Awarded Level:Federal

Grant: #DRL-2342578 Investigators:DeJarnette, Anna; Layne, John; Rollmann, Stephanie; Vanderelst, Dieter 08-01-2024 -07-31-2029 National Science Foundation ITEST SEI: Biology Meets Engineering, Expanding Trans-disciplinary STEM Education Role:Collaborator 1496642.00 Awarded Level:Federal

Peer Reviewed Publications

Vanderelst, Dieter; Steckel, Jan; Boen, Andre; Peremans, Herbert; Holderied, Marc W (2016. ) Place recognition using batlike sonar.eLife, , 5 , More Information

Vanderelst, Dieter (2016. ) Correction: Social Network Analysis As a Tool for Research Policy.PLoS neglected tropical diseases, , 10 (1 ) ,e0004410 More Information

Vanderelst, Dieter (2015. ) Social Network Analysis As a Tool for Research Policy.PLoS neglected tropical diseases, , 9 (12 ) ,e0004266 More Information

Vanderelst, Dieter; Holderied, Marc W; Peremans, Herbert (2015. ) Sensorimotor Model of Obstacle Avoidance in Echolocating Bats.PLoS computational biology, , 11 (10 ) ,e1004484 More Information

Vanderelst, Dieter; Peremans, Herbert; Razak, Norizham Abdul; Verstraelen, Edouard; Dimitriadis, Grigorios (2015. ) Correction: The aerodynamic cost of head morphology in bats: maybe not as bad as it seems.PloS one, , 10 (5 ) ,e0126061 More Information

Vanderelst, Dieter; Peremans, Herbert; Razak, Norizham Abdul; Verstraelen, Edouard; Dimitriadis, Grigorios; Dimitriadis, Greg (2015. ) The aerodynamic cost of head morphology in bats: maybe not as bad as it seems.PloS one, , 10 (3 ) ,e0118545 More Information

Schnyder, Hans A; Vanderelst, Dieter; Bartenstein, Sophia; Firzlaff, Uwe; Luksch, Harald (2014. ) The avian head induces cues for sound localization in elevation.PloS one, , 9 (11 ) ,e112178 More Information

Bartenstein, Sophia K; Gerstenberg, Nadine; Vanderelst, Dieter; Peremans, Herbert; Firzlaff, Uwe (2014. ) Echo-acoustic flow dynamically modifies the cortical map of target range in bats.Nature communications, , 5 ,4668 More Information

Reijniers, J; Vanderelst, D; Jin, C; Carlile, S; Peremans, H (2014. ) An ideal-observer model of human sound localization.Biological cybernetics, , 108 (2 ) ,169-81 More Information

Vanderelst, Dieter; Speybroeck, Niko (2014. ) Loading, merging and analysing demographic and health surveys using R.International journal of public health, , 59 (2 ) ,415-22 More Information

Vanderelst, Dieter; Reijniers, Jonas; Peremans, Herbert (2014. ) Comment on "Ear deformations give bats a physical mechanism for fast adaptation of ultrasonic beam patterns".Physical review letters, , 112 (7 ) ,079401 More Information

Vanderelst, Dieter; Speybroeck, Niko (2013. ) An adjusted bed net coverage indicator with estimations for 23 African countries.Malaria journal, , 12 ,457 More Information

Peremans, Herbert; Vanderelst, Dieter (2013. ) Augmented topological maps for three-dimensional navigation.The Behavioral and brain sciences, , 36 (5 ) ,560-1; discussion 57 More Information

Vanderelst, Dieter; Lee, Ya-Fu; Geipel, Inga; Kalko, Elisabeth K V; Kuo, Yen-Min; Peremans, Herbert (2013. ) The noseleaf of Rhinolophus formosae focuses the Frequency Modulated (FM) component of the calls.Frontiers in physiology, , 4 ,191 More Information

Vanderelst, Dieter; Jonas, Reijniers; Herbert, Peremans (2012. ) The furrows of Rhinolophidae revisited.Journal of the Royal Society, Interface, , 9 (70 ) ,1100-3 More Information

Vanderelst, Dieter; Reijniers, Jonas; Firzlaff, Uwe; Peremans, Herbert (2011. ) Dominant glint based prey localization in horseshoe bats: a possible strategy for noise rejection.PLoS computational biology, , 7 (12 ) ,e1002268 More Information

Guarato, Francesco; Jakobsen, Lasse; Vanderelst, Dieter; Surlykke, Annemarie; Hallam, John (2011. ) A method for estimating the orientation of a directional sound source from source directivity and multi-microphone recordings: principles and application.The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, , 129 (2 ) ,1046-58 More Information

Vanderelst, Dieter; Reijniers, Jonas; Steckel, Jan; Peremans, Herbert (2011. ) Information generated by the moving pinnae of Rhinolophus rouxi: tuning of the morphology at different harmonics.PloS one, , 6 (6 ) ,e20627 More Information

Reijniers, Jonas; Vanderelst, Dieter; Peremans, Herbert (2010. ) Morphology-induced information transfer in bat sonar.Physical review letters, , 105 (14 ) ,148701 More Information

Vanderelst, Dieter; De Mey, Fons; Peremans, Herbert; Geipel, Inga; Kalko, Elisabeth; Firzlaff, Uwe (2010. ) What noseleaves do for FM bats depends on their degree of sensorial specialization.PloS one, , 5 (8 ) ,e11893 More Information

De Mey, F; Schillebeeckx, F; Vanderelst, D; Boen, A; Peremans, H (2010. ) Modelling simultaneous echo waveform reconstruction and localization in bats.Bio Systems, , 100 (2 ) ,94-100 More Information

Vanderelst, Dieter; Speybroeck, Niko (2010. ) Quantifying the lack of scientific interest in neglected tropical diseases.PLoS neglected tropical diseases, , 4 (1 ) ,e576 More Information

Vanderelst, Dieter; Ahn, René M C; Barakova, Emilia I (2009. ) Simulated trust: a cheap social learning strategy.Theoretical population biology, , 76 (3 ) ,189-96 More Information

Brysbaert, Marc; Speybroeck, Sara; Vanderelst, Dieter (2009. ) Is there room for the BBC in the mental lexicon? On the recognition of acronyms.Quarterly journal of experimental psychology (2006), , 62 (9 ) ,1832-42 More Information

Duyck, Wouter; Vanderelst, Dieter; Desmet, Timothy; Hartsuiker, Robert J (2008. ) The frequency effect in second-language visual word recognition. Psychonomic bulletin & review, , 15 (4 ) ,850-5

Chitradurga Achutha, Adarsh; Peremans, Herbert; Firzlaff, Uwe; Vanderelst, Dieter (2021. ) Efficient encoding of spectrotemporal information for bat echolocation.PLoS computational biology, , 17 (6 ) ,e1009052 More Information

Bou Mansour, Carl; Koreman, Elijah; Steckel, Jan; Peremans, Herbert; Vanderelst, Dieter (2019. ) Avoidance of non-localizable obstacles in echolocating bats: A robotic model.PLoS computational biology, , 15 (12 ) ,e1007550 More Information

Geipel, Inga; Steckel, Jan; Tschapka, Marco; Vanderelst, Dieter; Schnitzler, Hans-Ulrich; Kalko, Elisabeth K V; Peremans, Herbert; Simon, Ralph (2019. ) Bats Actively Use Leaves as Specular Reflectors to Detect Acoustically Camouflaged Prey.Current biology : CB, , 29 (16 ) ,2731-2736.e3 More Information

Kugler, Kathrin; Luksch, Harald; Peremans, Herbert; Vanderelst, Dieter; Wiegrebe, Lutz; Firzlaff, Uwe (2019. ) Optic and echo-acoustic flow interact in bats.The Journal of experimental biology, , 222 (Pt 6 ) , More Information

Vanderelst, Dieter; Peremans, Herbert (2018. ) Modeling bat prey capture in echolocating bats: The feasibility of reactive pursuit.Journal of theoretical biology, , 456 ,305-314 More Information

Bakas, Tamilyn; Sampsel, Debi; Israel, Jahmeel; Chamnikar, Ameya; Ellard, Angela; Clark, John Greer; Ulrich, Megan Gresham; Vanderelst, Dieter (2018. ) Satisfaction and Technology Evaluation of a Telehealth Robotic Program to Optimize Healthy Independent Living for Older Adults.Journal of nursing scholarship : an official publication of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing, , 50 (6 ) ,666-675 More Information

Bakas, Tamilyn; Sampsel, Debi; Israel, Jahmeel; Chamnikar, Ameya; Bodnarik, Barbara; Clark, John Greer; Ulrich, Megan Gresham; Vanderelst, Dieter (2018. ) Using telehealth to optimize healthy independent living for older adults: A feasibility study.Geriatric nursing (New York, N.Y.), , 39 (5 ) ,566-573 More Information

Mfueni, Elvire; Devleesschauwer, Brecht; Rosas-Aguirre, Angel; Van Malderen, Carine; Brandt, Patrick T; Ogutu, Bernhards; Snow, Robert W; Tshilolo, Léon; Zurovac, Dejan; Vanderelst, Dieter; Speybroeck, Niko (2018. ) True malaria prevalence in children under five: Bayesian estimation using data of malaria household surveys from three sub-Saharan countries.Malaria journal, , 17 (1 ) ,65 More Information

echolocation, sonar, bio-inspired robotics, robotics, cognition, sensory ecology, hearing

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