controlled by remote

8/18/2019 Controlled by Remote

1/9

Scientists Remotely Control Flying Insects

A giant flower beetle with a radio transmitter (Credit: Tat Thang Vo Doan and Hirotaa Sato!"T# Singa$ore%

After mastering remote control of cocroaches& scientists now say they managed to control

insects in flight'

hile crawling insects ha)e been mani$*lated in lab settings since the +,,-s& control of

flying insects has been a long.standing h*rdle'

Researchers at #ni)ersity of California& /ereley& now say they ha)e managed to remotely

direct si0.centimeter.long giant flower beetles to tae off and land& t*rn left or right and e)en

ho)er in mid.air' The steering was relati)ely cr*de& and researchers say there1s room for

im$ro)ement' They determined that the m*scle the controls folding the insect2s wings is

also *sed for t*rning'

The insects were flying in a large room e3*i$$ed with eight motion.ca$t*re cameras'

Scientists say someday the remote controlled insects co*ld carry tiny cameras and ser)e in

search and resc*e o$erations after earth3*aes and other disasters'

http://www.futurity.org/beetles-flight-steering-877532/?utm_source=Futurity+Today&utm_campaign=3361a5f942-March_18_20153_18_2015&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_e34e8ee443-3361a5f942-203920661http://www.futurity.org/beetles-flight-steering-877532/?utm_source=Futurity+Today&utm_campaign=3361a5f942-March_18_20153_18_2015&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_e34e8ee443-3361a5f942-203920661http://www.futurity.org/beetles-flight-steering-877532/?utm_source=Futurity+Today&utm_campaign=3361a5f942-March_18_20153_18_2015&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_e34e8ee443-3361a5f942-203920661


2/9

Since the +,,-s& scientists in laboratories aro*nd the world ha)e been attaching miniat*re

electronic de)ices and electrodes to large cocroaches& trying to remotely control their

mo)ements'

The technology got so good that today& at least one #'S' com$any sells its with all re3*ired

electronics and li)e cocroaches& aimed at yo*ng e0$erimenters in colleges and e)en high

schools'


3/9

COULD CYBORG BEETLES SOON

FLY TO THE RESCUE?UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY

(Credit: Tat Thang Vo Doan and Hirotaka Sato/NTU Singapore)

Posted bySarah Yang-Berkeley on March 18, 2015

Scientists used tiny computers and wireless radios, strapped onto the backs of giant

flower beetles, to record neuromuscular data as the bugs flew untethered.

The findings show that a muscle known for controlling the folding of wings is also critical

to steering.

http://www.futurity.org/university/university-of-california-at-berkeley/http://www.futurity.org/author/berkeley-yang/http://www.futurity.org/author/berkeley-yang/http://www.futurity.org/university/university-of-california-at-berkeley/http://www.futurity.org/author/berkeley-yang/


4/9

The researchers then used that information to improve the precision of the beetles’

remote-controlled turns.

This study, published inCurrent Biology, showcases the potential of wireless sensors in

biological research. Research in this field could also lead to applications such as tools toaid search-and-rescue operations in areas too dangerous for humans.

UNTETHERED INSECTS

“This is a demonstration of how tiny electronics can answer interesting, fundamental

questions for the larger scientific community,” says Michel Maharbiz, an associate

professor in University of California, Berkeley’s electrical engineering and computer

sciences department.

“Biologists trying to record and study flying insects typically had to do so with the subject

tethered. It had been unclear if tethering interfered with the insect’s natural flight

motions.”

In particular, the researchers say, it had been difficult to elucidate the role that smaller

muscles play in fine steering. What the new study found was that the coleopteran third

axillary sclerite (3Ax) muscle, found in the articulation of insect wings, plays a key

function in the beetle’s ability to steer left or right.

“Since the 1800s, this coleopteran muscle was thought to function solely in wing

folding,” says study lead author Hirotaka Sato, an assistant professor at Singapore’s

Nanyang Technological University’s School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.

“Our wireless system allows us to record neuromuscular movements in natural, free

flight, so we see now that this muscle is also used for turning.”

MICROCONTROLLER IN A BACKPACK

The researchers tested the function of this muscle by stimulating it during flight for

graded turns that were more controlled than previous versions of the cyborg beetle.

http://www.cell.com/current-biology/abstract/S0960-9822(15)00083-4http://www.cell.com/current-biology/abstract/S0960-9822(15)00083-4


5/9

Experiments were done withMecynorrhina torquata, or giant flower beetles. They

averaged 6 centimeters in length and 8 grams in weight, about as heavy as a $1 coin.

The beetle backpack is made up of a tiny, off-the-shelf microcontroller and a built-in

wireless receiver and transmitter. Six electrodes are connected to the beetle’s opticlobes and flight muscles. The entire device is powered by a 3.9-volt micro lithium battery

and weighs 1 to 1.5 grams.

“Beetles are ideal study subjects because they can carry relatively heavy payloads,”

says Sato, who began the work while he was a postdoctoral researcher at UC Berkeley

and has continued the project at NTU.

“We could easily add a small microphone and thermal sensors for applications in

search-and-rescue missions. With this technology, we could safely explore areas not

accessible before, such as the small nooks and crevices in a collapsed building.”

During test flights, signals were transmitted to the beetle backpack every millisecond,

directing the beetles to take off, turn left or right, or even hover in mid-flight. The beetles

were untethered but in a closed room equipped with eight 3D motion-capture cameras.

“In our earlier work using beetles in remote-controlled flight, we showed excellent control

of flight initiation and cessation, but relatively crude control of steering during free flight,”says Maharbiz, principal investigator on the project.

“Our findings about the flight muscle allowed us to demonstrate for the first time a higher

level of control of free-flying beetles. It’s a great partnership between engineering and

science.”

The Nanyang Assistant Professorship and the Agency for Science, Technology and

Research in Singapore, and the National Science Foundation in the United States

funded the work.

Source: UC Berkeley

This Cyborg Cocroach2s "er)o*s System Is Hardwired for Remote Control

http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2015/03/16/beetle-backpack-steering-muscle/http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2015/03/16/beetle-backpack-steering-muscle/http://gizmodo.com/this-cyborg-cockroachs-nervous-system-is-hardwired-for-1689576485http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2015/03/16/beetle-backpack-steering-muscle/http://gizmodo.com/this-cyborg-cockroachs-nervous-system-is-hardwired-for-1689576485


6/9

Cockroaches have often been selected for remote control cyborg treatment,

but they're typically given instructions by electrically stimulating their

antennae. This little, critter, though has the electrics on his back hardwired

into his nervous system, allowing for human remote control of his motor

functions.

The cockroach in the picture carries a battery-powered microcontroller—

much like thecommercial units you can buy to create your own RC-roach. ut

those !"# kits simply use electrodes to stimulate the animal's antennae.

Researchers from Te$as %& (niversity have found that directly tapping intothe pro-ganglion—a bundle of nerve cells in the cockroach's )rst thoracic

segment—provides far better results.

*timulating the antennae simply tricks the cockroach into thinking that an

obstacle lies ahead, but directly stimulating the nervous system gives more

consistent results. "n e$periments, the researchers found they could make

the 'roach walk and turn using +udicious stimulation of one or both sides of

the nerve bundle. The team call their creation a remotely controlled hybrid

robotic system.

"f it all seems a little creepy, you can at least console yourself with the fact

that it's hoped such robo-roaches will be used in the future to )nd human

trapped beneath debris. *mall, nimble and self-powered, cyborg cockroaches

compare favorably to their purely robotic counterparts, at least for now.

ournal of the Royal *ociety "nterface via /ew *cientist0

http://kotaku.com/for-100-you-can-turn-a-cockroach-into-your-personal-c-1461966084http://gizmodo.com/cyborg-cockroaches-could-be-used-to-save-trapped-humans-1655817515http://gizmodo.com/cyborg-cockroaches-could-be-used-to-save-trapped-humans-1655817515http://rsif.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/12/105/20141363http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn27080-cyborg-cockroach-has-its-nerves-controlled-wirelessly.html#.VPgY7IHkf-Yhttp://kotaku.com/for-100-you-can-turn-a-cockroach-into-your-personal-c-1461966084http://gizmodo.com/cyborg-cockroaches-could-be-used-to-save-trapped-humans-1655817515http://gizmodo.com/cyborg-cockroaches-could-be-used-to-save-trapped-humans-1655817515http://rsif.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/12/105/20141363http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn27080-cyborg-cockroach-has-its-nerves-controlled-wirelessly.html#.VPgY7IHkf-Y


7/9


8/9

Cyborg Cockroaches Could e (sed To *ave Trapped 1umans

Controlling cockroaches with electrical 'backpacks' is one of those science

e$periments that's simultaneously 2uite cool and ethically grey. 3hat might

make you feel better, though, is the knowledge that those remote-controlled

cockroaches may save your life if you ever get trapped inside a burning

building.

Researchers from /orth Carolina *tate (niversity have out)tted cyborg

cockroaches with microphones which, when wired up to the roaches' normal

sensory appartus, means that the 'biobots' will seek out the source of a

sound. The scientists hope that, in addition to providing a good tracking tool

to *kynet, this will also enable humans to )nd other humans in enclosed

spaces like a collapsed building.

Cyborg cockroaches themselves are nothing particularly new — 'Roboroach'

kits let you cheaply control your very own cockroach, by microstimulatingthe cockraoches' antennae with eletrical signals — like steering a horse with

reins, only these reins are electrodes that are strapped to their heads.

The /orth Carolina researchers took this one step further, attaching

microphones to their roaches' cerci, which are the sensory organs that

cockroaches normally use to sense if their abdomen brushes into something.

http://gizmodo.com/cyborg-cockroaches-could-be-used-to-save-trapped-humans-1655817515http://kotaku.com/for-100-you-can-turn-a-cockroach-into-your-personal-c-1461966084#_ga=1.217090966.1441501907.1427729293http://gizmodo.com/cyborg-cockroaches-could-be-used-to-save-trapped-humans-1655817515http://kotaku.com/for-100-you-can-turn-a-cockroach-into-your-personal-c-1461966084#_ga=1.217090966.1441501907.1427729293


9/9

Therefore, by stimulating the cerci, the roach can be 'encouraged' to move

forward, or left, or right, and ultimately towards the source of a sound. The

hope is that those sounds will end up being people screaming for help, and

that by trapping the cockroaches' transmitters, rescuers will be able to )nd

people trapped in disaster scenarios.

3hat having a team of cyborg cockroaches crawling over the victims will do

to their mental health remains to be seen. /orth Carolina *tate

(niversity via 4i5mag0

Brian Barito

35 14 100 04

!eo"ati#$ %ngineering
http://news.ncsu.edu/2014/11/bozkurt-roach-biobot-2014/http://news.ncsu.edu/2014/11/bozkurt-roach-biobot-2014/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJXEPcv-FMwhttp://news.ncsu.edu/2014/11/bozkurt-roach-biobot-2014/http://news.ncsu.edu/2014/11/bozkurt-roach-biobot-2014/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJXEPcv-FMw

controlled by remote

Documents