Engineers from the Japanese research organization RIKEN Cluster for Pioneering Research announced the creation of a controlled
Engineers attached the wireless modulecontrol legs and a lithium polymer battery to the upper chest of a six-centimeter cockroach. The device is held thanks to a special backpack. It was modeled after the body of a model cockroach and 3D printed from a flexible polymer.
Image and diagram of a robotic cockroach. Source: Yujiro Kakei et al., npj Flexible Electronics
After analyzing the movements of cockroaches, scientistsrealized that the abdomen is constantly changing its shape, and parts of the exoskeleton overlap. These features make it difficult for foreign objects to attach to the body of insects. In the design of the backpack, engineers alternated adhesive and non-adhesive areas on the films, allowing them to bend but remain attached.
The designed backpack fits perfectlycurved surface of a cockroach. Thanks to this, the device does not restrict movement, the cockroach can move at its normal speed, and the control module remains in a stable position for more than a month.
Once these components have been integrated intocockroaches along with wires that stimulate the leg segments with an electrical impulse, new cyborgs have been tested. The battery was charged with pseudo-sunlight for 30 minutes, and the animals were made to turn left and right using a wireless remote control.
Researchers note that cyborg cockroachescan be used to study dangerous and hard-to-reach areas. To do this, in addition to the control module, the necessary sensors must be included in the backpack, for example, radiation dosimeters.
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