Chinese scientists have successfully turned bees into cyborgs by inserting controllers into their brains.
The device, which weighs less than a pinch of salt, is strapped to the back of a worker bee and connected to the insect’s brain through small needles.
In tests the device worked nine times out of 10 and the bees obeyed the instructions to turn left or right, the researchers said.
The cyborg bees could be used in rescue missions – or in covert operations as military scouts.
The tiny device can be equipped with cameras, listening devices and sensors that allow the insects to collect and record information.
Given their small size they could also be used for discreet military or security operations, such as accessing small spaces without arousing suspicion.
Zhao Jieliang, a professor at the Beijing Institute of Technology, led the development of the technology.
It works by delivering electrical pulses to the insect’s optical lobe – the visual processing centre in the brain – which then allows researchers to direct its flight.
The device, which weighs less than a pinch of salt, is strapped to the back of a worker bee and connected to the insect’s brain through small needles
The study was recently published in the Chinese Journal of Mechanical Engineering, and was first reported by the South China Morning Post.
‘Insect-based robots inherit the superior mobility, camouflage capabilities and environmental adaptability of their biological hosts,’ Professor Zhao and his colleagues wrote.
‘Compared to synthetic alternatives, they demonstrate enhanced stealth and extended operational endurance, making them invaluable for covert reconnaissance in scenarios such as urban combat, counterterrorism and narcotics interdiction, as well as critical disaster relief operations.’
Several other countries, including the US and Japan, are also racing to create cyborg insects.
While Professor Zhao’s team has made great strides in advancing the technology, several hurdles still remain.
For one, the current batteries aren’t able to last very long, but any larger would mean the packs are too heavy for the bees to carry.
The same device cannot easily be used on different insects as each responds to signals on different parts of their bodies.
Before this, the lightest cyborg controller came from Singapore and was triple the weight.
The researchers, from the Beijing Institute of Technology, used worker bees – similar to this one pictured – as part of their study (stock image)
Researchers at RIKEN, Japan have created remote-controlled cyborg cockroaches, equipped with a control module that is powered by a rechargeable battery attached to a solar cell
It also follows the creation of cyborg dragonflies and cockroaches, with researchers across the world racing to develop the most advanced technology.
Scientists in Japan have previously reported a remote-controlled cockroach that wears a solar-powered ‘backpack’.
The cockroach is intended to enter hazardous areas, monitor the environment or undertake search and rescue missions without needing to be recharged.
The cockroaches are still alive, but wires attached to their two ‘cerci’ – sensory organs on the end of their abdomens – send electrical impulses that cause the insect to move right or left.
HOW COULD CYBORG COCKROACHES HELP IN DISASTER ZONES?
In November 2014, researchers at North Carolina State University fitted cockroaches with electrical backpacks complete with tiny microphones capable of detecting faint sounds.
The idea is that cyborg cockroaches, or ‘biobots’, could enter crumpled buildings hit by earthquakes, for example, and help emergency workers find survivors.
‘In a collapsed building, sound is the best way to find survivors,’ said Alper Bozkurt, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at North Carolina State University.
North Carolina State University researchers have developed technology that allows cockroaches (pictured) to pick up sounds with small microphones and seek out the source of the sound. They could be used in emergency situations to detect survivors
‘The goal is to use the biobots with high-resolution microphones to differentiate between sounds that matter – like people calling for help – from sounds that don’t matter – like a leaking pipe.
‘Once we’ve identified sounds that matter, we can use the biobots equipped with microphone arrays to zero-in on where those sounds are coming from.’
The ‘backpacks’ control the robo-roach’s movements because they are wired to the insect’s cerci – sensory organs that cockroaches usually use to feel if their abdomens brush against something.
By electrically stimulating the cerci, cockroaches can be prompted to move in a certain direction.
In fact, they have been programmed to seek out sound.
One type of ‘backpack’ is equipped with an array of three directional microphones to detect the direction of the sound and steer the biobot in the right direction towards it.
Another type is fitted with a single microphone to capture sound from any direction, which can be wirelessly transmitted, perhaps in the future to emergency workers.
They ‘worked well’ in lab tests and the experts have developed technology that can be used as an ‘invisible fence’ to keep the biobots in a certain area such as a disaster area, the researchers announced at the IEEE Sensors 2014 conference in Valencia, Spain.
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