North Carolina State introduces remote-controlled Roboroach
North Carolina State University’s iBionicS lab has taken the wireless sensor to a new level by latching one on to a cockroach and remotely controlling it.
“Our aim was to determine whether we could create a wireless biological interface with cockroaches, which are robust and able to infiltrate small spaces,” says Alper Bozkurt, an assistant professor of electrical engineering at NC State and co-author of a paper on the work. “Ultimately, we think this will allow us to create a mobile web of smart sensors that uses cockroaches to collect and transmit information, such as finding survivors in a building that’s been destroyed by an earthquake.”
MORE: 25 of today’s coolest network and computing research projects
The little electronic backpack fitted onto the Madagascar hissing cockroaches and featuring a microcontroller interacts with the insects’ antennae and cerci (sensory organs on their abdomens) to direct their movement.
Bob Brown tracks network research in his Alpha Doggs blog and Facebook page, as well on Twitter and Google +.
P.S. Our Madagascar Cockroaches just had about 20 babies. So precious!
