Japanese boffins build solar-powered, remote-controlled cyborg cockroach
- Reference: 1663873450
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2022/09/22/japanese_solar_powered_cyborg_cockroach/
- Source link:
The techno-leap that made " [1]Robobug " possible was developed by the RIKEN Cluster for Pioneering Research (CPR), which said it outfitted a Madagascar hissing cockroach with a tiny Arduino-based backpack, complete with wires running to the bug's rear legs. When stimulated with an electrical current, the researchers were able to get the cyberroach to turn either left or right. Commands are sent wirelessly to the Arduino system in the backpack, which then moves the bug.
In [2]a published paper , the CPR team, led by Kenjiro Fukuda from RIKEN's Thin-Film Device Laboratory, said their experiment largely centered around finding a novel way to power their robot insect.
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"The evolution of electronics that can be integrated with organisms has increased the demand for the development of power supply devices with higher power densities," the eggheads wrote.
[4]
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Unable to power their tiny electronics by battery alone, due to limitations in today's battery technology, the team chose to combine a battery with solar power, using light to keep a small battery within the backpack topped up for as long as possible.
That solar power was generated by an organic solar cell film only 4 microns thick (for reference, a human hair is about 70 microns thick), and which was designed to be attached to a cockroach's abdomen without restricting its movement.
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Details of RIKEN's cyborg roach design, with circuit schematic ... Click to enlarge
By building this solar cell, and wiring it to the battery, the team was able to get two hours of activity out of the roach's backpack unit. The researchers said most of the power was eaten up by sending and receiving Bluetooth signals to steer the insect.
For those concerned about the welfare of the roaches, the 3D printed backpacks are removable, and the bugs are returned to their terrarium when not taking part in tests.
The bionic bug future is still a ways off, thankfully
The thought of being rescued from a collapsed building with the help of a three-inch long wired-up cyberroach may not be the most pleasant idea, but for now it's just that – an idea. The RIKEN team has a lot of work to do to create remotely-pilotable insects able to investigate disaster areas and hazard zones.
First off, cockroaches are nocturnal and don't exactly like the sun, a problem the team ran into. To charge the cockroach battery backpack, the researchers had to alternate between periods of light and dark, meaning the charging process was quite slow.
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To get around that issue, the researchers said additional hardware is needed that includes a locomotion control system, light sensors and temperature sensors, none of which are part of the test build. With those sensors attached, "an algorithm can be established that stimulates the cockroach to stay under the light during the charging mode of the system while considering life support," the researchers wrote in the paper.
[8]What world really needs is indestructible robot cockroaches
[9]Dead 'Necrobot' spider used as gripper for robot arm
[10]Brain-computer interface researchers warn of a 'bleak' cyberpunk future
[11]11-year-old graduate to achieve immortality by 'replacing body parts with mechanical parts'
Those sorts of algorithms and sophisticated cybernetics, which would effectively overrule the cockroach's instinct to hide from the sun, are beyond the system's current capabilities, the team admitted. For example, [12]according to Reuters , a recent demonstration of the technology had the roach turning left on command, but when told to turn right it simply spun in circles.
RIKEN researcher Yujiro Kakei, who co-authored the paper, said the total cost of the cyborg pack carried by the roaches was just 5,000 yen, or around $35 (£31). Not exactly state-of-the-art hardware. Kakei said the team hopes to add sensors and a camera, along with miniaturizing the tech for future iterations.
According to Fukuda, the tech the team designed isn't limited to cockroaches. "Our strategy can be adapted to other insects like beetles, or perhaps even flying insects like cicadas in the future," Fukuda said. He said the solar film could also be built into clothing or used in skin patches to power vital sign monitors. ®
Get our [13]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.riken.jp/en/news_pubs/research_news/pr/2022/20220905_2/index.html
[2] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41528-022-00207-2
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Yyza@O0elFgNJQksD6A9OAAAAQk&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Yyza@O0elFgNJQksD6A9OAAAAQk&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Yyza@O0elFgNJQksD6A9OAAAAQk&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://regmedia.co.uk/2022/09/22/borg-roach-details.jpg
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Yyza@O0elFgNJQksD6A9OAAAAQk&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2021/07/06/roachbots/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2022/07/28/necrobotic_spider_robot_arm/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2021/07/22/brain_computer_interface/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2021/07/08/prodigy_uni_graduate/
[12] https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/science/meet-japans-cyborg-cockroach-coming-disaster-area-near-you-2022-09-21/
[13] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Ethics
While you raise a fine ethical concern, it's a roach, and the idea of it's self agency is more of an abstract concept then a concrete manifestation.
The more glaring point you gloss over is how all of these "Roach pilot" systems currently work. This isn't an advanced neural interface, that controller pack isn't making it move because every joint is being delicately puppeteered. The "control" system is purely based on triggering an aversion response.
To put a finer point on it, it's based on roach torture.
People treat this like it's a cute toy, to the point they have released kits for grade schoolers to do this in science class. I have and will continue to dispatch those vile little suckers by fairly brutal means, with the caveat that while they may die violently, they will at least do so quickly.
My problem with is is also as much about what doing that to a living thing does to US psychologically as it is about the suffering of the roach. The school that teaches this kind of dehumanizing lesson is preparing its students for a world where they will either face the cattle prod, or wield it themselves.
Too Many (Electronic) Bugs
The surveillance kings are gonna deploy the next generation of these stealthy little these things to pick up "targeted" audio data, and perhaps even video.
Re: Too Many (Electronic) Bugs
I bet most videos abruptly end with an image of the sole of someone’s shoe…
"For example, according to Reuters, a recent demonstration of the technology had the roach turning left on command, but when told to turn right it simply spun in circles. "
Two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts do.
I'm with other people, this is torturing an insect and should not be done. Build a robot, not a cyborg. This is no different than carneys charging you to watch a dancing chicken. The claim is the chicken dances for money, the reality is the money turns on a hotplate under the chicken. You're actually paying money to torture a live animal by burning its feet, not watch it dance.
"Electronics that can be integrated with organisms"
This story is repulsive and not just because it involves cockroaches. The idea of taking over organisms and directing them to act against instinct is hideous. Why not create a true robot instead of violating the rights of an actual living organism? Too expensive? The Riken press release notes that "for the use of cyborg insects to be practical, handlers must be able to control them remotely for long periods of time."
Cockroaches are extremely primitive, but I suspect as the science improves they will test it on more complex beings. Soon they'll be making dogs snuggle up to cats, and other unnatural and crazy things.
Icon because you can keep off my lawn, and away from my cockroaches.