Robotics

Remote-controlled cyborg cockroaches are now solar-powered

Electronic devices on the thorax of cockroaches can now be powered by thin-film solar cells attached to their abdomen
RIKEN
Electronic devices on the thorax of cockroaches can now be powered by thin-film solar cells attached to their abdomen
RIKEN

Why design robots from scratch when nature has already done a lot of the hard work for us? That’s the reasoning behind cyborg insects, and now scientists have found a way to make remote-controlled cyborg cockroaches more advanced, by powering them using custom solar cells.

Insects make use of a range of powerful sensory organs, they’re small enough to reach places we can’t, they can survive in harmful environments, and they can climb surfaces or fly with ease. These are all useful attributes for robots – or better yet, cyborgs, by attaching electronic devices to living insects.

Over the years many types of insects have received the cyborg treatment. Cyborg locusts could use their sensitive noses to sniff out explosives, cyborg dragonflies can make for zippy little drones, and cyborg cockroaches could scurry through disaster zones searching for survivors.

Previous versions have used small batteries to power the electronics, but that adds a time limit to their function before they need to be charged or swapped out. So for the new study, researchers at RIKEN integrated solar cells into cyborg cockroaches.

The team mounted electronics onto the backs of Madagascar cockroaches, which grow to about 6 cm (2.4 in) long. That electronics package includes a lithium polymer battery, a wireless receiver and a module that controls the insect’s legs, fitted into a 3D-printed “backpack” that matched the curve of its thorax.

They connected this to an organic solar cell module mounted on the cockroach’s abdomen. This ultra-thin film measures just 0.004 mm thick, to keep them light enough for the bugs to carry. Adhesive and non-adhesive sections were used in different parts of the film so as not to impede the cockroaches’ movement.

These solar cells had a power output of 17.2 mW, which is enough to run the electronics for two hours after 30 minutes of charging in the sun. The team says this output is 50 times higher than other energy-harvesting devices used on living insects.

These improvements could make cyborg cockroaches even better at scurrying through collapsed buildings looking for survivors, or remotely monitoring conditions with small sensors. The team says that the new design could also be adapted to other types of cyborg insects.

The research was published in the journal npj Flexible Electronics.

Source: RIKEN via Eurekalert

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6 comments
Daishi
The Dall-E image generator is going to make images for stories like this interesting. I for one welcome our new cyborg cockroach overlords.
Bob
"Why design robots from scratch when nature has already done a lot of the hard work for us?" Because it's totally unethical to take away the autonomy of another living creature? I've worked in robotics for years, but the idea of controlling another being's legs to make it do what I want is still gross. Again "saving lives" used to justify something unpleasant that will be snapped up by those who want to abuse and control with it.
SamH
I may be ignorant in this but I thought cockroaches tended to avoid light.
Malcolm Jacks
SamH, exactly my same thoughts.?
Rustgecko
@SamH
Cockroaches do hate light, but if you control their legs.....
Cymon Curcumin
Every science story about cockroaches is about turning them into cyborgs. Could we focus a little more on learning to kill them instead of domesticating them?