The implanted grasshopper device has the ability to detect bombs

A researcher in the United States is developing a technology that can turn grasshoppers - biblical annihilators - into explosive detectors in hard-to-reach places.

A researcher in the United States is developing a technology that can turn grasshoppers - biblical annihilators - into explosive detectors in hard-to-reach places.

If successful, the technology could potentially change the way bomb disposal teams seek and remove landmines - a job that requires both humans and dogs to complete. Why not use an insect platoon instead?

According to the project author, Baranidharan Raman, Washington University in St. Louis, the grasshopper project will combine the ability to detect some of the locust's characteristic scents with some special electronic devices, creating a kind of Half-biological biology half creatures are perfect for mine detection.

The grasshopper project will combine the ability to detect some of the locust's characteristic scents with some special electronic devices.

This system works with the energy generated by thermoplastic tattoos tattooed on grasshopper wings, these tattoos will produce small heat when the grasshopper hits the wings. The system allows the team to control the target and collect samples of organic compounds in the surrounding air.

Once you have reached the position where there is a possibility of a bomb, the nerve signal of the grasshopper will be read and decoded by a microcomputer on the body into "yes" or "no" results . This result will be sent to the group, and the red LED will turn on if there is a bomb, the green light will turn on if the area is "clean".

But why use living organisms when you can use unmanned aircraft? Raman decided that the locust's olfactory use is because not only will it save costs - this method is more effective than high-end sensors.

"It only takes a few hundred milliseconds for the locust brain to recognize the new taste in the surrounding space," Raman told the BBC. "Grasshoppers handle flavors information extremely quickly".

"Even the most advanced micro-detectors need to use a lot of sensors. On the other hand, if you look at an insect's antenna, their receptor, there are thousands of sensor cells. " , he said.

Right now, dogs' mine detection work, because they have the first sense of smell in the animal world. But they also have defects. It took years to train a dog, and when it died when on duty .

"The dog's olfactory system is still the most perfect sensor system for many jobs, including national security and medical diagnostics , " Raman told the Telegraph.

"However, due to the requirement of a fast decoding technology that is able to read information sent in the biological body, the difficulties and time required to train dogs to limit them to jobs. other".

This technology will probably be available in the next two years.

Raman's hybrid grasshoppers are still in the testing phase, but he said the technology could be available in the next two years - a fairly viable goal, considering the US Naval Research Department invest 750,000 dollars for research.

Raman is not the only scientist with creative ideas in mine detection. A group of researchers in Cambodia have begun training mice to detect bombs, and have successfully removed more than 4,599 land mines and 36,044 pieces of unexploded mines only in Cambodia.

According to a 2008 report by the United Nations, unexploded ordnance removes 15,000 to 20,000 lives each year and injures many others. With such data, it is not surprising that we need to find many solutions.

Hopefully, grasshoppers will provide a safer method to detect mines and help us feel safer. Time will answer and we will soon know if these insects really work effectively.