Rescued by a Roach
Coming Soon to a Kitchen Cabinet Near You: Cyborg Roaches
HLSensory Overload: We’re Everywhere You’re Going To Be
If video-equipped drones flying around in your back yard are annoying you and you decide to retreat back into the house for a little well-deserved privacy, don’t assume that you are alone just because you are the only human in the house. Cockroaches are soon going to give the term “bugged” a whole new meaning. While ostensibly designed to assist rescuers search tiny void spaces in collapsed structures that are inaccessible by dogs or other sensing devices, how long will it be before bio-bot insects are pressed into service as tiny listening or video recording devices that can self-deploy?
Dogs are well-known for their use in search and rescue efforts after a major disaster, but what about cockroaches? Cockroaches have been around for over 300 million years and may be the most primitive living insect. These insects survived the mass extinction that wiped out the dinosaurs. They are some of the world’s hardiest insects and are able to withstand radiation exposure up to six to 15 times higher than a deadly dose for humans. Some cockroaches have been known to live up to three months without food and water. Cockroaches are one of the most common household pests and most people would describe them as gross. But the next time you are about to step on that cockroach consider this story.
The University of North Carolina has been experimenting with cockroaches over the past five years and built two types of audio-sensing backpacks that they have installed onto Madagascar hissing cockroaches — the same species shown in various Hollywood movies.
Once installed with the backpack, these cockroaches, called biobots, can be remotely controlled through sensors. The goal of the program is to determine the potential of using insect-bot sensors for various applications, such as search and rescue, since they can go into small, dark places that are otherwise unreachable.
After a major disaster, armies of cockroach biobots could potentially be guided to trapped survivors through high-resolution microphones in their backpacks. Using a computer to collect the data from 10 to 15 biobots, the cockroaches are guided toward the source of the sound through automated electric pulses in their antennae. The sounds control the direction of the cockroach through nerve stimulation and automatically steer the biobot toward its source — a potentially trapped survivor. Using transmitters to track the movement of the biobots, signals sent back to the command center could pinpoint the exact location of the survivor for the rescue team.
This video explains the cyborg roaches in detail:
Because of the cockroaches’ hardiness and durability, they serve as a better platform than anything the researchers have been able build. However, according to a University of Michigan researcher, “one of the problems with these approaches is that they work well in the lab, where there are no distractions, but are much more tricky to apply reliably in real-world environments.”
The next stage of the research is to take the insects out of the lab — for testing in terrain. “The goal is to use the biobots with high-resolution microphones to differentiate between sounds that matter — like people calling for help — from sounds that don’t matter — like a leaking pipe,” said Dr. Alper Bozkurt, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at North Carolina State and senior author of two papers on this development. “Once we’ve identified sounds that matter, we can use the biobots equipped with microphone arrays to zero in on where those sounds are coming from.” The full story can be accessed at: http://www.hstoday.us/briefings/industry-news/single-article/cyborg-cockroaches-could-aid-first-responders-in-disaster-relief-efforts/863a2b600c0f898be648d661cc6a2d83.html
Once the lab phase is complete, the North Carolina researchers plan to use cyborg roaches equipped with Geiger counters to search for leaks in nuclear power plants. Researchers have also developed technology to establish an invisible fence around a specific area to keep the biobots in a defined area. This maintains a reliable wireless network and can help steer them to a light source to charge the solar cell on the backpack. Maybe they can use this technology to keep them out of the house.
Cockroaches have been plaguing humans for thousands of years. Now through the use of biobots, they may become human lifesavers. According to Assistant Professor Alper Bozkurt, “There are a number of applications where we can get insect-bot sensors out into the field to collect useful information. But in the next five or six years, we think this project will be ready to be fully deployed under the rubble.” North Carolina State received a grant of $880,000 to conduct this research, and the program is funded through the end of September 2016. So just when you thought cockroaches were a pest, researchers have been busy finding uses that no one had previously thought possible. Full story can be accessed at: https://news.ncsu.edu/2014/11/bozkurt-roach-biobot-2014/
More on this story can be found at this video link:
So what is next in cyborg insects? The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) administers a program called Hybrid Insect Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems that is developing cybernetic insects — a merging of biological and electronic bugs. This research includes cyborg moths. According to a North Carolina State University article, published in the Journal of Visualized experiments, new research “proposes a new method for attaching electrodes to a moth during its pupal stage, in the cocoon. As the caterpillar is undergoing metamorphosis into the winged adult stage, the sensors embed themselves in such a way that researchers can directly monitor the electrical signals in muscle groups the moth uses during flight.” The goal is to create moth controlled swarms as a flying sensor network for surveillance or disaster response. The full article can be accessed at: http://news.discovery.com/tech/biotechnology/biobot-moths-become-cyborgs-in-cocoon-140820.htm
You thought you had heard it all, now you may have to be careful about swatting insects and stepping on cockroaches. In fact, RoboRoach surgery kits can be ordered on-line for $59.99 each, so you can make your own RoboRoach at home: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsrorUT_Svc
Like drones that are being used by both government agencies and hobbyists alike to spy on innocent and unsuspecting citizens, the build-a-spy-roach kits are the bleeding edge of invasive technologies. These technologies are far outpacing the necessary legal frameworks that are needed to assure that they are used responsibly. Do you have the right to smash a cockroach that scuttles into your house if it “belongs” to someone? Stay tuned.
More information on this topic can be found at the following links:
https://news.ncsu.edu/2014/11/bozkurt-roach-biobot-2014/
http://www.gizmag.com/sound-steered-biobot-rescue-cockroaches/34630/
http://news.discovery.com/tech/biotechnology/biobot-moths-become-cyborgs-in-cocoon-140820.htm
