(Kenjiro Fukuda / RIKEN https://bit.ly/3eCLOgq)
A team of engineers from Japan and Singapore has created a self-loading cockroach control system.
The device is attached to the upper part of the insect, stimulates its cirriform organs with electrical impulses and thereby makes it turn in the right direction.
The team led by Takao Someya also put a flexible solar panel on the back of the cockroach to recharge the electronics without interfering with its movements.
Engineers have long learned to control insects by stimulating their organs.
The most common animal for such experiments is cockroaches.
The engineers use the following principle to control them:
They place electrical impulses that stimulate the antennae or cerci (antennae-shaped organs at the back of the cockroach).
Because of thos the cockroach has the illusion that he has encountered an obstacle, and he turns in the opposite direction.
THE CYBORG-ROACH
Then, scientists began to explore the possible applications of cyborg cockroaches and equip them with additional functions.
Last year a cockroach was equipped with a thermal camera and a navigation system that allows it to search for people.
In such works, electronics on the cockroach receive energy from a battery, which sooner or later discharges.
Now, Someya’s team from Japan's Institute of Physical Chemical Research (RIKEN) solved this problem by equipping a cyborg cockroach with a solar panel.
The authors used the Madagascar cockroach Gromphadorhina portentosa, famous for its large size of about ten centimeters.
They developed a "backpack" measuring two by four centimeters, which is attached to the upper part of its abdomen.
To do this, the engineers 3D printed a curved mount that fits the shape of the insect's abdomen.
The "backpack" consists of:
- an Arduino-based control board,
- a battery,
- voltage converters (they are necessary to convert current from the solar panel and charge the battery).
Since the cockroach bends a lot during its movements, especially when climbing over obstacles, the engineers decided to use a flexible solar panel in the form of a film.
It is glued only to a part of the segments of the abdomen, so it can bend, and the panel does not peel off because of this.
Experiments have shown that the generation power of a solar panel under bright light is 17.2 milliwatts.
THE TESTINGS
The engineers tested the operation of the cyborgroach by building a small stand on an Arduino with a button and a transmitter that sends commands to the "backpack".
When the button is pressed, the board on the belly of the cockroach begins to produce impulses with a voltage of 3.3 volts and a frequency of 50 hertz.
The experiments have confirmed that this causes the cockroach to turn in the right direction.
They also made sure that the solar panel worked.
A lamp simulating sunlight was able to charge the cockroach's battery in half an hour, and it was possible to remotely control its movements for 2 minutes.
WARNING: THE CONTENT MIGHT RESULT YOU DISTURBING:
Source:
- npj Flexible Electronics: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41528-022-00207-2
- Riken: https://www.riken.jp/en/news_pubs/research_news/pr/2022/20220905_2/index.html
- Science Daily: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/09/220905085222.htm
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They do this with mice, too. The solar panel is a new twist to me, though...
I agree with your warning label. I have always found this sort of research a little bit disturbing.
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Yeah, I also found it disturbing. Still, the research itself was interesting.
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