Researchers at North Carolina State University have managed to turn Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches into biobots, which can be issued movement commands wirelessly. The process involved taking an off-the-shelf microcontroller and hooking it up to the roaches’ antennae and abdomen. Using this, they were able to issue the roach commands that fooled it into thinking either danger was near or that an obstacle was blocking its path, which is how the roach follows the set path seen in the video. It wouldn’t be surprising to see spy equipment in the near future developed using this technology, along with any number of uses people can come up with.
Hat Tip: Engadget.com
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That is cool. Really ingenious. I imagine cameras and listening devices would be great to couple with this idea, not to mention multiple roachs with plastic explosives tied on to them. Send 40 of them into AO and then Boom!. Also, with the government having much smaller tech than what nc state is able to get it would make it easier on the roach. In the long run I wonder what the effects of being stimulated constantly will do to the creatures. I almost feel sorry for the little bastards.
Ever read Deception Point? Very eerie….
“Equally important as disease carriers are flies and roaches” — this quotation from a 1952 U.
Part of the frustration lies in the difficulty many homeowners have found with killing cockroaches.
These have flattened bodies with three long filament tails.