PHASE 1: WHAT IS IT LIKE TO BE A (VIRTUAL) BAT? This first phase of the project will involve the writing of an essay engaging with the various interlocking disciplinary approaches to the question of consciousness and reality which Zheng Mahler’s work seeks to examine.

Phase 2: A FIELD SURVEY OF BAT SPECIES ON LANTAU ISLAND, HONG KONG This phase will involve field research on Lantau Island, Hong Kong, specifically in and around the village of Mui Wo, to identify the varieties of bat species living in the area. Several identification methods will be borrowed from systems used by bat workers to conduct field surveys of bat populations, with the data collected becoming the basis for visual and sound-based artworks. VISUAL IDENTIFICATION Roosting and feeding areas for the bats will be located using visual identification techniques, with Hong Kong bats known to inhabit caves, drainpipes, and the fronds of the Chinese fan palm and banana leaves. The bats species known to inhabit Lantau Island include the short-nosed fruit bat (Cynopterus sphinx), the himalayan roundleaf bat (Hipposideros armiger), the pomona roundleaf bat (Hipposideros pomona), the greater bent-winged bat (Miniopterus magnater), and the intermediate and large horseshoe bats (Miniopterus magnater). ACTIVE ACOUSTIC IDENTIFICATION Active acoustic identification of bat species inhabiting a demarcated area in Mui Wo will be conducted using an ultrasonic microphone connected to a real-time spectrogram making recordings of bats feeding in specific areas. The spectrogram recordings will be compared with spectrograms of bat calls made in other geographical locations to help with identification, while heterodyne techniques will be used to pitch shift the calls into human-audible ranges. These recordings and accompanying spectrograms will be presented on the project website as field documentation. THERMAL VIDEOS OF BATS Using a modified camera in which the dichroic filter used for passing infrared light has been removed and replaced with colour filters for absorbing visible spectrums, video documentation of the bats in the landscape will be created and turned into heat-mapped thermal videos in order to show the bats’ flight paths and behaviour. INFRARED AND ULTRAVIOLET PHOTOGRAPHY Photos of the various bat-inhabited environments in Lantau will be taken using analogue cameras and infrared film. These photos, capturing the strange, unearthly infrared moonlight reflected on the tropical landscapes the bats inhabit, will become a part of the exhibition.

Phase 3: ECHOLOCATION AND SENSORIMOTOR SUBSTITUTION A study of the echolocation systems of the bats will be conducted through a literature review of bat physiology and neurology, focusing on the ways in which the bats’ ultrasonic CM and FM calls reflect off prey and features in the landscape, and the ways in which the return signals directly influence the motor behaviour of bats in flight. This in turn will form the basis for the development of a drone system which incorporates a version of the bats’ echolocation system built using microcontrollers and ultrasonic sensors alongside mounted infrared cameras. Drone recordings will be made using these cameras and sensors, with the data collected used as the basis for VR systems which simulate the experience of being a bat. These drone-flight videos using the electronic echolocation system will also be documented on the website.

Phase 4: AN IMMERSIVE SYSTEM FOR BECOMING A VR BAT