The eavesdropping of the US military

Spies can immediately overhear a conversation using second-hand insects in a study invested by the US military.

The US Center for Advanced Defense Research Projects has spent years developing a semi-robotic creature hoping to create a perfect eavesdropper.

Currently, a team of researchers led by Hirotaka Sato has created semi-robotic beetles that are radio-controlled through a laptop.

The flight control device was implanted on the beetle.

Researchers at Berkeley University have implanted a monitoring device on beetles that can control where they fly.

Using implant equipment, the scientists carried out the control of the takeoff, hovering and landing of the beetle thanks to brain stimuli that acted on the wings.

They controlled through stimulating the key muscles of one side or the other side of the wing to make the other wing harder to beat.

The system is implanted in beetles when they are still in the pupal stage; This system consists of nerve and muscle stimulants, a micro battery and a micro-controller with a radio transceiver.

Robotic insects will become messengers from inaccessible places.

Three major beetles in Cameroon were used in experiments at the University of California at Berkeley. The smallest bug is 2cm long, while the largest is 20cm long.

According to Prof. Noel Sharkey, an international expert on artificial intelligence and robotics at the University of Sheffield, there have been attempts to control insects such as cockroaches, but this is the first time flying insects are controlled. from far away.

Professor Sharkey asked the question: What is the final military application of remote controlled beetles when they need to be implanted with a global positioning transmitter and camera. These devices are so bulky that even the largest bug cannot carry.

Researchers believe that remote control beetles can act as messengers from inaccessible places or as a tiny model of aircraft.

This experiment was also applied by the Berkeley team on dragonflies, flies and caterpillars because of their super-flight ability.

DARPA's ultimate goal is to create semi-robot insects that can fly over 300ft (~ 9m) to their target and then stay until ordered to withdraw.