Posted: September 8, 2012 <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
In the photo above, a cyborg cockroach is steered along a curving line by remote control. Thats right, a cyborg cockroach. <\/p>\n
Practically since the advent of robotics humanity has been working on ways to put a machine in harms way rather than a human. Unmanned aerial drones for the military, for example, can scout for danger and even deliver an attack. <\/p>\n
But North Carolina State scientists have their mind on a smaller scale figuring out how to help someone buried in rubble, or gather information on a hostile environment unsafe for people. The obvious solution cyborg cockroaches. <\/p>\n
NBC News reports that scientists have outfitted a cockroach with a high-tech backpack that allows researchers to remotely control where it moves. Many unmanned small robots exist, but making them insect-size small has been a challenge because of the large batteries needed to power them. The scientists came up with a creative solution to this dilemma. <\/p>\n
Insects have a power process on them, a natural one, Alper Bozkurt, an electrical engineer at North Carolina State University, told NBC News. We just needed to supply power for communication, which is not much. <\/p>\n
Slate reports that the Madagascar hissing cockroaches are outfitted with a backpack with electrodes connected to their antennae and cerci. By administering a charge to either the cerci, left antennae or right antennae, scientist control where the bug will go. A jolt to the cerci convinces the bug that something is sneaking up on it, and it will speed up. A jolt to the right antennae turns it left, and a jolt to the left antennae turns it right. <\/p>\n
The researchers pointed out that the bugs have a sense of feel, which is key in the the steering mechanism, but add that they do not have pain sensors. <\/p>\n
Dont look for an army of cyborg cockroach rescuers to hit the scene on a natural disaster any time soon though. The researchers said their success rate of getting one of the bionic bugs to complete the s-course seen in the video below was only about 10 percent, with the weigh of the backpack sometimes slowing the bugs response time. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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Cyborg Cockroaches Exist, Could Save Your Life One Day [Video]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Posted: September 8, 2012 In the photo above, a cyborg cockroach is steered along a curving line by remote control. Thats right, a cyborg cockroach Continue reading