University of Connecticut (UConn) researchers are the latest to throw their hats into the cockroach cyborg ring. What they’ve created is a tiny, neuro-controller that offers precise biobot control.
Over the last 10 years, scientists have been evolving technology to merge insect and machine. However, they’ve ran into difficulties shrinking the tech to such a small scale, while at the same time combining electronic hardware with the insect’s biological nerve tissue to spur movement.
The UConn device functions as a backpack, worn by the insect. The backpack’s wires connect to the subject’s left and right antenna lobes, and sends electrical charges to the nerve tissue.
These charges can trick the cockroach into thinking it has detected an object, and thus, encouraging movement in a planned direction. A charge to the right makes the cockroach move left, and left-based pulses initiate movement toward the right.
In addition, the controller provides neural-muscular feedback in real time.
“The use of insects as platforms for small robots has an incredible number of useful applications from search and rescue to national defense,” says Abhishek Dutta, UConn assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering. “We believe our microcircuit provides a more sophisticated and reliable control system that brings us one step closer to real-world implementation of this technology.”
Dutta along with undergraduate Evan Faulkner developed their device with increased overall precision, thanks to a nine-axis inertial measurement unit, which sits at the invention’s core. It tracks linear and rotational acceleration, recognizes the compass heading, and senses ambient temperature—a condition that can affect the cockroach’s performance.
A Bluetooth device situated on the neuro-controller sends all the data to the operator, who can then make informed decisions to steer the subject on the desired course. Recent lab tests showed successful left and right movement when prompted by electrical stimuli.
In the next phase, the UConn team will continue developing and refining the system. A layout of the device is pictured below.