DARPA Scientists Fit Cyborg Beetles With Generators that Turn Their Own Wings into Power Plants
29 replies, posted
[QUOTE]For years now, DARPA and other free-thinking research institutions have been developing micro-air-vehicles (MAV), usually modeled after insects. But building a tiny, lightweight flying robot is tough when you need a power supply--like an onboard battery--to keep the MAV flying. Then researchers turned to insect mind control--implanting live insects with machinery that lets humans manipulate their movements--but the problem remained: neural control hardware requires a battery to run.
Now, a team of Michigan researchers may have finally solved the battery problem by demonstrating an energy scavenger that derives power straight from the insects own wing motion. Using a tethered Green June Beetle and a couple of piezoelectric generators mounted on its wings, the researchers were able to generate 45 µW (that’s microwatt, or one one-thousandth of a milliwatt) of power.
What’s more, they think they could improve that by an order of magnitude if they made the beetle a true cyborg and directly implanted the generators to the insect’s flight muscles. That’s enough power to run the onboard neuro-hardware needed to manipulate the beetles--which means basically the ability to tell a Green June beetle to fly depends on the power generated from flight.
That’s pretty cool, considering DARPA and the rest of the cyborg insect research establishment has a variety of roles in mind for the sensor laden drone insects of the future, including search and rescue, intelligence and surveillance, environmental monitoring and the like.
[img]http://www.popsci.com/files/imagecache/article_image_large/articles/cyborginsect1.jpeg[/img][/QUOTE]
Source: [url]http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2011-09/scientists-fit-cyborg-beetles-generators-turn-their-own-wings-power-plants[/url]
[QUOTE]Then researchers turned to insect mind control--implanting live insects with machinery that lets humans manipulate their movements[/QUOTE]
Can we get mosquitoes to kill one another? That would be an absolute dream.
I can see insect slaves in the future.
Reminds me of this
[img]http://i51.tinypic.com/2b1890.jpg[/img]
Except in bug form.
[QUOTE=Billiam;32079540]Can we get mosquitoes to kill one another? That would be an absolute dream.[/QUOTE]
And wasps.
Fuck wasps.
I hate those motherfuckers. I hope they somehow encourage them not to fly into the house, bounce off my computer screen and land in my hair while I flail around screaming like a girl trying to get the little cocksucker out of my golden lion's mane.
The mosquito gladiator thing would be pret OH FUCK I JUST THOUGHT OF SOMETHING. Take a fuckton of birds or whatever, barn swallows or something since they're assholes anyways and put generators in them. YEAH. They can fly super fast (I know, I try to demolish their shit with a tennis racket every year but I can never effectively hit them) and probably have super ripped muscles. You could power a laptop with an attic's worth of barn swallows!
[QUOTE=Billiam;32079540]Can we get mosquitoes to kill one another? That would be an absolute dream.[/QUOTE]
Isn't there some kind of wacky project going on with a virus that turns female mosquitos into males or something? It works because only females suck blood from humans.
Mosquito war would be pretty awesome though.
June bug cockfights. I would mount a lightweight carbon-fibre spear along the thorax.
inb4 FEMA internment camps for bugs
How about we tell spiders to eat their own young? So they stop invading my house?
Title made me think of beetle borgs
Thread did not disappoint
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XdoMP23EKE[/media]
Sorry, the 90's already has cyborg beetles.
Man, I sure do love DARPA.
In the future kids will be able to fight their pet cyborg insects like pokemon
[QUOTE=xeonmuffin;32081097]And wasps.
Fuck wasps.[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=Fartnugge;32081507]June bug cockfights. I would mount a lightweight carbon-fibre spear along the thorax.[/QUOTE]
Combine these ideas.
Have cockfights between custom-configured cyberwasps. Tournaments against only the strongest and most skilled wasp-warriors - winner takes all.
Get your remote controlled wasp, today!
They've been able to control their brains for years, but this is just awesome.
My question is, if the wings power a battery, won't they have to work slightly harder? Will this hurt the bug's lifespan or just make it eat more?
[QUOTE=Omali;32086951][media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XdoMP23EKE[/media]
Sorry, the 90's already has cyborg beetles.[/QUOTE]
God damn gimmeh my fox kids.
God damn gimmeh my beetle borgs.
If you can't kill em'
use em' to power everything
I think beetles are kind of cool. I'd rather see this done to wasps and hornets instead.
Seriously, they don't do anything to help the ecosystem. In fact, they kill bees.
[QUOTE=StarWarsMan;32081697]How about we tell spiders to eat their own young? So they stop invading my house?[/QUOTE]
Spiders are bros though.
They protect your house from the annoying bugs.
You're joking, they are the creepiest pests of them all. I don't have smaller insects that attack my home, only spiders and spiders and spiders.
[QUOTE=Pocket Medic;32101241]You're joking, they are the creepiest pests of them all. I don't have smaller insects that attack my home, only spiders and spiders and spiders.[/QUOTE]
It only seems that way because spiders kill everything else.
[QUOTE=StarWarsMan;32081697]How about we tell spiders to eat their own young? So they stop invading my house?[/QUOTE]
But, but I like spiders. [img]http://i.somethingawful.com/forumsystem/emoticons/emot-saddowns.gif[/img]
That beetle never asked for this.
[editline]4th September 2011[/editline]
[QUOTE=StarWarsMan;32081697]How about we tell spiders to eat their own young? So they stop invading my house?[/QUOTE] But spiders eat other, more annoying and scary bugs. They're really your bro-bugs deep down man.
Now they must only find a way to get these to kill people.
Edit: It's gonna be a dark future where they can send killer insect drones after your ass.
[QUOTE=xeonmuffin;32081097]And wasps.
Fuck wasps.[/QUOTE]
Seeing MIT students create an army of animals. Hmm.
[IMG]http://gamingbolt.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/deus-ex-human-revolution.jpg[/IMG]
[I]I never asked for this.[/I]
[QUOTE=zzaacckk;32105578]Seeing MIT students create an army of animals. Hmm.[/QUOTE]
Let's fight out wars with animals instead of people.
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