Swarm of cyborg cockroaches that act as hunting machines’ to be stuffed inside large robots before being let loose
CYBORG cockroaches could be put inside larger robots and released on missions, according to new research.
The cockroaches all have gadgets attached that allow them to be controlled by a computer.
Researchers at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore have demonstrated how they could command and direct the creatures.
A small army of remote-controlled cockroaches was unleashed in a desert setting.
The test involved 20 Madagascar hissing roaches being mounted with small computers on their backs.
Scientists then controlled the swarm simultaneously and made it move up a sandy slope.
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Commands are sent to the small computer backpacks.
Electrodes are used to send the commands through to the cockroaches' sensory organs.
Researchers can then tell the creatures to move left or right.
The cockroaches are still said to be able to overpower the commands and choose their own way around an obstacle.
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Scientists found that one cockroach would become the leader of the group.
This led to a swarm as all the cockroaches tried to follow the leader.
Cockroaches that fell onto their backs were lifted up by others in the group.
The study can be found online in the journal ariXiv.
"Navigating multi-robot systems in complex terrains has always been a challenging task," the researchers wrote.
"This is due to the inherent limitations of traditional robots in collision avoidance, adaptation to unknown environments, and sustained energy efficiency.
"In order to overcome these limitations, this research proposes a solution by integrating living insects with miniature electronic controllers to enable robotic-like programmable control, and proposing a novel control algorithm for swarming.
"Although these creatures, called cyborg insects, have the ability to instinctively avoid collisions with neighbors and obstacles while adapting to complex terrains, there is a lack of literature on the control of multi-cyborg systems."