The engineers at the University of California at Berkeley have developed a wireless, flying, cyborg beetle. A radio receiver is used to relay information to electrodes connected to the insect's optic lobes and flight muscles. Beetles are strong enough to carry equipment of substantial weight such as miniature cameras. This creature's abilities were demonstrated by researchers at the 2009 IEEE MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) Conference in Italy.
DARPA is also interested in implanting insects with mechanical devices at infancy so they grow into cyborg adults. For example, wiring could be placed into caterpillars, then growing into cyborg butterflies. Butterflies are known for their ability to fly thousands of miles without feeding, so they could be very successful for this use.
This is very interesting research, and I'm sure could be put to good use. However, it sounds like a scary sci-fi flick where all the cyborg insects attack us and electricute everybody, etc. Mixing technology with biomatter is a very important on-going ethical debate. It's a difficult topic, and also difficult, at least for me, to choose a side.
Ornes, Stephen. "The Pentagon's Beetle Borgs". discovermagazine.com. 30 Apr, 2009. 13 Aug, 2009. http://discovermagazine.com/2009/may/30-the-pentagons-beetle-borgs
Cyborg bugs would be a great resource to have in order to help us gather information during wars and even to gives us views of areas that are too small for a human to fit. Enemies would not expect that the bug that just whizzed by them was actually a spy for the American team. On the other hand, we will also have to be aware that the enemy may also possess the same technology and keep fly swatters on hand. LOL
ReplyDeleteyes you mention a couple good things to consider. Mixing technology and biomatter, insects and possibly animals is tricky. One of those areas where do you draw the lines between ethics, science or warfare. It does seem like something out of a Sci Fi flick, reminds me of the fly. But man, it's amazing, to think they actually can do this blows my mind. It's also interesting the consideration od different insects, like a butterflies endurance in long distance flight and then a beetles strength. What else could they adapt?
ReplyDeleteSo this is the futuristic carrier pigeons. Very efficient because these beetles can be controlled by people so it is guaranteed to reach its destination. The purposes for this are virtually limitless. They can be used to communicate messages, or record a needed video either to catch a drug dealer or even a murderer. Good work!
ReplyDeleteThinking on a purely scientific level, this will truly be and can be the new way to do warfare. Information can be retrieved and sent virtually anywhere with no computer hacking interference. Something that small will be incredibly hard to detect. On an social level though, it does come back to it being an ethical and moral issue. How far will be too far for scientists? Will we eventually hit an era where we will try using humans for cyborg mutations? I feel that we're far from this actually happening, but at the rate science technology moves, who knows.
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