China creates insect cyborgs controlled by Bluetooth

If there was an earthquake in the near future and survivors were trapped under tons of rubble, the first people to find them could be a swarm of robotic cockroaches.

This is a potential application for a recent breakthrough by researchers, who demonstrated the ability to attach solar cells and electronics to the "backpacks" of insects and control their movements remotely. Kenjiro Fukuda and his team at Japanese research giant Riken's Thin Film Devices Laboratory have developed a flexible solar cell film 4 microns thick, about 1/25 the width of a human hair, that can be attached to insects.

The film allows the cockroach to move freely while the solar cells generate enough electricity to process directional signals and send them to sensory organs in the cockroach's hindquarters. The work builds on previous insect control experiments at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and could one day produce robotic insects that can penetrate dangerous areas more effectively than robots.

"The battery inside the small robot runs out quickly, so the exploration time will be shorter," Fukuda said. \"A key benefit (of a cyborg insect) is that when it comes to an insect\'s movements, the insect is causing itself to move, so the electricity required is nowhere near as much.\"

Fukuda and his team chose Madagascar hissing cockroaches for the experiments because they are big enough to carry the equipment and have no wings that would get in the way. Even when the backpack and film are glued to their backs, the bugs can traverse small obstacles or right themselves when flipped over. Fukuda and his team chose Madagascar hissing cockroaches for the experiments because they are big enough to carry the equipment and have no wings that would get in the way. Even when the backpack and film are glued to their backs, the bugs can traverse small obstacles or right themselves when flipped over. In addition to disaster relief, Fukuda also makes extensive use of solar film, which consists of microscopic layers of plastic, silver, and gold. The film can be embedded in clothing or on the skin and used to monitor vital signs. On a sunny day, a parasol covered in the material could generate enough electricity to charge a mobile phone, he said.