REMOTE-controlled cyborg beetles wearing microchip backpacks could be used to save lives in horror disasters.
Two boffins at the University of Queensland (UQ) in Brisbane, Australia, are building the smallest search and rescue team.
6
6
6
They say the plan could cut the time it takes to find someone trapped under rubble from days to hours.
The darkling beetles (Zophobas morio) can be controlled with video game controllers if they are fitted with the chips, Dr Thang Vo-Doan and Research Assistant Lachlan Fitzgerald have found.
The chips shock the beetles into moving in a certain direction by stimulating the insect’s antenna or hardened forewings known as elytrons.
So far, they’ve been able to move the cyborg bugs side-to-side and up vertical walls.
Dr Vo-Doan said: “Beetles possess many natural gifts that make them the masters of climbing and manoeuvring in small, complex spaces such as dense rubble, that are difficult for robots to navigate.
“Our work harnesses these gifts and adds programmable controls that allow for precise directional guidance, without affecting the lifespan of the beetle.”
The science is being done by a team of researchers at the Biorobotics lab in UQ’s School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering, who hope to test the technology in a live situation within five years.
Fitzgerald said: “While robots at this scale have made strides in locomotion, the transition from horizontal surfaces to walls remains a formidable challenge for them.
“This difficulty arises from the need for active foot pads, soft environmental interactions, and sophisticated sensing capabilities – all things that our cyborg insects possess naturally that allows them to access any area that is required in a disaster environment.”
Dr Vo-Doan said while a tethered power supply had been used for the climbing test, the beetles were able to climb with a battery equivalent to its own body weight.
The team is next working on cameras and a compact and efficient power system to enhance the beetle’s mobility and versatility.
Dr Vo-Doan said: “If people have been trapped under an extensive amount of rubble, you want to be able to find them as quickly as possible and start planning how to get them out.
“We hope to produce a tool that can easily move through chaotic environments to pinpoint a person’s exact location, provide clues to any injuries, and give rescuers a picture of what needs to be done to free them”.
The cyborgs also use a minimal amount of power on each run compared with miniaturised robots that are currently being modelled.
6
6
It’s not the first time that beetles have been fitted with backpacks and used for search and rescue.
Scientists in China built beetles that wore backpacks and could be controlled remotely – but which also could test for carbon dioxide poisoning.
Boffins have also created a similar set of cyborg cockroaches.
Stuck on the back of real-life Madagascan hissing cockroaches, the chip sits on a panel that uses an infrared camera and a series of sensors to collect and send data to first responders.
The original idea for the hero insects comes from Professor Hirotaka Sato.
He witnessed the devastation caused by the 2011 Japanese earthquake first-hand and quickly realised there needed to be a faster and more effective way of finding survivors and victims.
He said: “Our motivation is purely to use this technology for search and rescue. To save people from disaster.”
6
