Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 hours ago
In a paper published in Science, researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, the Humboldt University of Berlin, and the University of Stuttgart have discovered that the secret to the elephant’s amazing sense of touch is in its unusual whiskers. The interdisciplinary team analyzed elephant trunk whiskers using advanced microscopy methods that revealed a form of material intelligence more sophisticated than the well-studied whiskers of rats and mice. This research has the potential to inspire new physically intelligent robotic sensing approaches that resemble the unusual whiskers that cover the elephant trunk.
Check the full video here:
youtu.be/MD7Auy7lH34
Publication: Schulz, A.K., Kaufmann, L.V., Smith, L.T., Philip, D.S., David, H., Zinnanti, J., Brecht, M., Richter, G., Kuchenbecker, K.J., 2026, Functional gradients facilitate tactile sensing in elephant whiskers, Science
Find out more: is.mpg.de/news/elephant-whiskers
Simulation repository: github.com/LawSmith408/WhiskerAnalyses
Read the paper: science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adx8981
Citations
A. K. Schulz et al., Skin wrinkles and folds enable asymmetric stretch in the elephant trunk, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 119, e2122563119 (2022)
A. K. Schulz et al., Suction feeding by elephants, J. R. Soc. Interface. 202110215 (2021)
K. Arkley et al., Strategy Change in Vibrissal Active Sensing during Rat Locomotion, Current Biology, Volume 24, Issue 13, (2014)
In a paper published in Science, researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, the Humboldt University of Berlin, and the University of Stuttgart have discovered that the secret to the elephant’s amazing sense of touch is in its unusual whiskers. The interdisciplinary team analyzed elephant trunk whiskers using advanced microscopy methods that revealed a form of material intelligence more sophisticated than the well-studied whiskers of rats and mice. This research has the potential to inspire new physically intelligent robotic sensing approaches that resemble the unusual whiskers that cover the elephant trunk.
Check the full video here:
youtu.be/MD7Auy7lH34
Publication: Schulz, A.K., Kaufmann, L.V., Smith, L.T., Philip, D.S., David, H., Zinnanti, J., Brecht, M., Richter, G., Kuchenbecker, K.J., 2026, Functional gradients facilitate tactile sensing in elephant whiskers, Science
Find out more: is.mpg.de/news/elephant-whiskers
Simulation repository: github.com/LawSmith408/WhiskerAnalyses
Read the paper: science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adx8981
Citations
A. K. Schulz et al., Skin wrinkles and folds enable asymmetric stretch in the elephant trunk, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 119, e2122563119 (2022)
A. K. Schulz et al., Suction feeding by elephants, J. R. Soc. Interface. 202110215 (2021)
K. Arkley et al., Strategy Change in Vibrissal Active Sensing during Rat Locomotion, Current Biology, Volume 24, Issue 13, (2014)
