Real domestic cats have complicated ears, with at least five muscles pulling each ear in various directions. We are researching a simpler way to actuate ears while maintaining most of their expressive power.

Ear demo video

Older content: A simpler ear model

Based on observation of domestic cats, each ear has two main degrees of freedom:

1. Rotation around a vertical axis to face forwards, sideways, or back
2. Folding backwards, as sometimes seen during displays of agression

This model makes the problem simpler, but it does not suggest a way to actuate the ears. By learning more about how ears are positioned and move relative to the skull, we hope to get some ideas.