Researchers have been given a grant by the Department of the Navy to build a cyborg of a locust. The purpose of the construction is to use the locusts superior sense of smell for “Homeland Security Applications.”
Years before the Navy offered the researcher, Raman, has been studying the similar ways in which many small bugs are able to smell. The team of researchers plan on monitoring the locusts brain while it is being introduced to a variety of different odors.
The researchers are also working on technology that will allow them to steer the cyborg locusts wherever they need it. This is done by placing a device that heats the locusts abdomen, which tells them which direction to fly. The idea being that a tiny remote control bug can be used to fly into situations in which humans cannot reach, such as collapsed buildings, or small opening to larger complexes.
Can you think of other insects that would make useful robots?
