Would you believe it if I said that cockroaches can save human lives? Yes, the bug cockroaches that we detest. Today’s post is about how rapid development in technologies have resulted in application of science in insects like cockroaches can help humans.
Japan has begun developing cyborg cockroaches. Ultra-solid computers (4-micrometer ultrathin solar cell film) and antennas are combined with biological tissue to create cyborg cockroaches. When current flows to the right side of the antenna, the cockroach turns left, and when both sides are stimulated, it moves backwards. It also uses an infrared camera to distinguish whether it is a person or not. Why is Japan making cyborg cockroaches? In 2011, the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami destroyed tens of thousands of buildings and triggered a tsunami that battered Japan’s east coast, including Fukushima nuclear power plant. This caused another disaster which caused an estimated total of 18,000 casualties and missing people. During this time, Professor Sato, a researcher at UC Berkeley, realized the desperate and tragic events that resulted from difficult search and rescue process in the building rubble and decided to create something that could find survival vehicles by squeezing into even the smallest spaces – cockroaches.
A team of Japanese researchers developed a rechargeable cyborg cockroach that can be remotely controlled for use in searchand-rescue and other missions. In experiments led by the state-backed institute, the team attached 4-micrometer ultrathin solar cell film to the backs of Madagascar cockroaches, which are around 6 centimeters long and easy to handle because they do not fly.
Cockroaches controlled by humans can enter even the narrowest gaps and check whether humans survive. Cockroaches are particularly characterized by avoiding obstacles on their own and helping their fellow roaches even without human instructions, so when we set them to follow a leader, a group of 20 all do the same. It seems that the time is not far away when the cockroaches so many of us hate, will help save our lives.
Image Pixabay