Riken researchers develop rechargeable cyborg cockroach
Timilehin Adejumobi
1 min read
A researcher shows a Madagascar hissing cockroach, mounted with a "backpack" of electronics and a solar cell that enable remote control of its movement, during a photo opportunity at the Thin-Film Device Laboratory of Japanese research institution Riken in Wako, Saitama Prefecture, Japan September 16, 2022. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
A team of researchers has developed a rechargeable cyborg cockroach that can be remotely controlled for use in search-and-rescue and other missions, Japan’s Riken research institute said.
In experiments led by the state-backed institute, the team attached 4-micrometer ultrathin solar cell film to the backs of Madagascar cockroaches, which are around 6 centimeters long and easy to handle because they do not fly.
Despite the attached electronic components, the cockroaches could still move freely as the team interleaved adhesive and non-adhesive sections onto the solar cell films to accommodate the insects’ natural movement.
With the electricity supplied by the solar cell, the team could control the cockroaches’ movements via a wireless control module attached to the thorax by applying electrical stimulation to a sensory organ called the cercus at the rearmost segment of the insects, it said.
A 30-minute charge allowed around two minutes of remote control capacity.
Cyborgs, which are integrations of machines and organisms, can be used not only to replace an organism’s defective body parts but also to realize functions that exceed its normal capabilities, the team said.
The team hopes the latest study will contribute to the practical use of cyborg insects, including the ability to search for survivors trapped in rubble or to collect data in hazardous zones.
This report’s information was first seen on Japantoday; to read more, click this link.
