Tech Japanese scientists create a rechargeable, remote-controllable cockroach

Led by Kenjiro Fukuda, RIKEN CPR, the team experimented with Madagascar cockroaches, which are approximately 6 cm long. They attached the wireless leg-control module and lithium polymer battery to the top of the insect on the thorax using a specially designed backpack, which was modeled after the body of a model cockroach. The backpack was 3D printed with an elastic polymer and conformed perfectly to the curved surface of the cockroach, allowing the rigid electronic device to be stably mounted on the thorax for more than a month. The ultrathin 0.004 mm thick organic solar cell module was mounted on the dorsal side of the abdomen. "The body-mounted ultrathin organic solar cell module achieves a power output of 17.2 mW, which is more than 50 times larger than the power output of current state-of-the art energy harvesting devices on living insects," according to Fukuda.

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thomas said:

Researchers have engineered a system for creating remote-controlled cyborg cockroaches equipped with a tiny wireless control module powered by a rechargeable battery attached to a solar cell. Cyborg insects—part insect, part machine—can help inspect hazardous areas and monitor the environment. Handlers must be able to control them remotely for long stretches of time. This entails wireless control of their leg segments, powered by a tiny rechargeable battery.

Japanese scientists create remote-controlled cockroach | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News

Researchers in Japan have developed a system that can remotely control insects. They say it can be used to help find people trapped during natural disasters.

www3.nhk.or.jp

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Robobug: a rechargeable, remote-controllable cyborg cockroach

www.riken.jp

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Petaris said:

I feel like solar power would not be very useful in a lot of the hazardous areas that would need something as small as an insect to inspect. I also feel like environmental monitoring could be done in more reliable ways then using a cyborg insect.

Don't get me wrong, its an interesting idea but I am curious what specific problem this would be a solution to. It would seem to me that the most obvious use case would actually be spying....

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mdchachi said:

I'm sure it's the same problems they would use insect-sized robots for. They always talk about using them to find people in collapsed buildings or to investigate toxic or radioactive environments. But I'm sure spying is on the list. Probably the insects have some advantages in that they need less electrical power and won't become disabled if the power runs out.

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The scientists, primarily from the Riken research institute, said a Madagascar hissing cockroach fitted with a ultrathin solar cell and a Bluetooth short-range wireless communication unit turned right or left in accordance with their instructions. "We may be able to mobilize cyborg insects to find people buried under debris in a disaster if we can put a thin temperature sensor on the bugs," said Kenjiro Fukuda, a senior research scientist at Riken. A power generator is essential for controlling the movements of insects and collecting data from them. Fukuda and his colleagues developed a 4-micrometer-thick solar cell, the world's thinnest, to not impair the motion abilities of insects. The battery can be recharged as long as the insects are alive.

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At first, the researchers inserted electrodes into antennae and other parts and guided the insects in the desired direction by applying stimulation. But this method placed a heavy burden on the insects, and repeated stimulation gradually made them less responsive. [...] Among the findings, he focused on a trait in which shining ultraviolet light into one eye causes the insect to move in the opposite direction. Ultraviolet light produces a slower initial response than electrical stimulation, but repeated use is less likely to dull the reaction. Because the electronic devices are attached with beeswax and other materials, the burden on the body is small and the devices can be removed. The team is also using sensors to monitor heartbeat, nerve signals and body movements, and is studying the relationship between environmental changes and insect responses. By understanding the insects' condition, Morishima said, they can guide them without placing excessive strain on them.

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