School of Physics Nonlinear Science Seminar: Prof. Tyson L. Hedrick, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Recent advances in camera sensor technology and the maturation of machine vision analysis pipelines now allow for recording bird flight trajectories in the field with high spatial and temporal precision, informing analyses of flight biomechanics and intraspecific interactions.

These include data on high-speed, high-G maneuvers impossible to recreate in laboratory apparatus such as wind tunnels as well as simultaneous recordings of the position of >1,000 individuals in bird flocks.

Dr. Hedrick uses these data to explore predator-prey interactions on the wing, latency, and flapping kinematics in intraspecific pursuits and comparisons of models and data for large bird flocks.