Video shows maiden flight of cyborg dragonfly
Video shows maiden flight of cyborg dragonfly
By Michael Irving Michael Irving May 31, 2017
Over the past few years, a variety of cyborg animals have
been unleashed, as scientists kit out cockroaches, locusts and even turtles
with electronic accoutrements. Back in January, researchers from Charles Stark
Draper Laboratory and Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) outlined plans to
fit dragonflies with tiny electronic backpacks, allowing them to be controlled
remotely. In a new video, their cyborg dragonflies have taken flight for the
first time.
The animal kingdom is fertile inspirational ground for
new technology, but it's difficult to properly mimic the speed and
manoeuvrability of a dragonfly, or the complicated olfactory system of a
locust. Rather than designing robots and sensors from scratch, scientists have
developed ways to take advantage of the hard work nature has already done, by
equipping live insects with electronic systems.
In the case of Draper's and HHMI's DragonflEye, the
insect is controlled through pulses of light piped into certain neurons in the
bug's brain, which allows a human pilot to steer it like a drone. The eventual
aim, the team says, is to use the tiny cyborgs to guide pollination, deliver
payloads, or scout unsafe territory.
With the new video, the team has revealed how the
solar-powered backpacks are attached to the insects, and briefly shown the
DragonflEye taking wing for the first time. Check it out below.
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