What do you get when you strap tiny electronic parts to moths and turn them into mini-cyborgs? You get something researchers call "biobots," tiny creatures that have been electronically enhanced and are capable of being controlled remotely.
This might sound like something from a science fiction movie, but North Carolina State University researchers have done just that, by figuring out how to electronically control moths' flight muscles.
So how do you create a cyber moth? The team started by attaching electrodes to a moth while in its pupal stage, or while it's a caterpillar still in its cocoon. Then, the caterpillar eventually becomes a moth, or in this case, a cyber moth.
Attaching electrodes to muscles associated with flight allowed the team to monitor the natural electric signals that occur in those muscles when the moth is flying. A wireless platform connected to the moth collected that data as the moth moved its wings. To allow the moth to have more freedom of movement, the platform levitated using electromagnets.
"By watching how the moth uses its wings to steer while in flight, and matching those movements with their corresponding electromyographic signals, we're getting a much better understanding of how moths maneuver through the air," says Dr. Alper Bozkurt, co-author of a paper on the work. "By watching how the moth uses its wings to steer while in flight, and matching those movements with their corresponding electromyographic signals, we're getting a much better understanding of how moths maneuver through the air."
Once this understanding is complete, the team hopes to create technology that allows them to control moths via remote control. The technology would be valuable for search and rescue missions, as the moths can generally fly in areas that people are unable to get to.
"The idea would be to attach sensors to moths in order to create a flexible, aerial sensor network that can identify survivors or public health hazards in the wake of a disaster, says Bozkurt.
Of course, it may be some time before we see these biobots in action. Although scientists understand more about how moth muscles work during flight, they need to create the technology to allow for those muscles to be remotely operated on free-flying moths.
There is also the issue of cruelty in using technology for controlling an animal's movements. However, the technology that could make that happen is still fascinating, if also a little terrifying.
