Remote-controlled Cyborg Beetle

If you get a bit queasy when seeing someone swat a fly please skip to the next article. This microcontroller that has been mounted to the back of this beetle has the ability to drive him as he flies. I can just imagine the possibilities that will soon be reality. Take a few hundred of these with cameras on them, have some real time computers control them to snap images of the entire environment and use some software like Photosynth to re-create the entire 3D map of the area. Just imagine this happening behind enemy lines, flying around in enemy bunkers. If you are interested in this technology have a look at some of the other developments that we have featured before such as the Remote Controlled Pigeon, Rat Brain Remote, Moth Head Robot and the Cockroach Robot.

Via: Make

"The miniaturized system developed by Sato and his colleagues is mounted onto the pronotum (the dorsal, or upper, plate of the exoskeleton), and consists of electrodes implanted into the brain and wing muscles. Flight commands to start and stop flight and control the insect’s elevation and turning were generated on a personal computer running specialized software, and transmitted to a microcontroller which is equipped with a radio transceiver and powered by a microbattery."