Cyborg cockroaches are essentially computationally modified and remote controlled cockroaches. Researchers usually implant tiny electrodes in their body as an electronic bridle. It then stimulates the antennae enabling them to better understand their physical environment. Cyborg Cockroaches can have multiple uses as well as significant advantages in comparison to small robots. Computationally modified insects are found to be more capable of certain tasks at small scale than their fully robotic counterparts.
Cyborg Cockroach Swarm, potential rescuers of the future
Creating a group of cyborg cockroaches can easily prove to be useful and even lifesaving in certain cases. It is capable of playing a crucial role in saving human lives during disasters like earthquake when many including children often get trapped below the debris. It is suspected that rescue operations of the future will include robots because of their larger efficiency in handling such crisis under appropriate human supervision. But, beings that can prove to be even more helpful for the purpose are the insects, especially these cyborg cockroaches. Cockroaches are especially preferred for the purpose owing to their impressive efficiency, mobility skills as well as high power to weight ratio. Additionally, they are also more than capable of feeding themselves. So, you don’t need to worry about their food when operating remotely. It implies that whenever you don’t need them to do anything, you can simply give them a break to feed themselves by deactivating their control system. You can activate the system once again whenever you want them to fulfill certain tasks. Indian origin scientist Abhishek Dutta and his peers at the University of Connecticut in the United States had also suggested these possibilities in their research in 2018. They equipped certain cockroaches with a neuro-controller microcircuit and attached its wires with the antennae lobes of the cockroaches. It could be effectively used to control its movement, stimulate their antennae lobes as well as to provide real-time feedback of their neural-muscular response to stimuli.
Cyborg Cockroaches May Soon Be Entering Your Households
But, how comfortable would you be with one, –or even better– a bunch of them in a swam residing secretly in your home? IEEE Spectrum suggests the horrifying possibility in its latest report on cyborg cockroaches. Digital Nature Group at the University of Tsukuba in Japan is reportedly working on seamless combinations of computational and non-computational resources. Non-computational resources in this particular context mean various objects and beings from the natural world including insects. Evan Ackerman notes that cyborg cockroaches may appear out of nowhere in our homes in the future. And, what’s even more horrifying is the fact that we may not even recognize them as they keep fulfilling their tasks hiding secretly in our houses. Thus, while there are numerous advantages and potential uses of these cyborg cockroaches; they can also become a potential threat to our privacy just as easily. What do you think of their creatures with impressive robotic capabilities? Share with us in the comments below. ALSO READ: A HUMAN WOMAN PILOT IN STAR FOX 2? WHAT, SAY YES!
