Cyborg-cockroach to the rescue

Engineers from the University of North Carolina have developed technology for creating cyborgs-cockroaches, that is, insects with electronic implants.

A small microphone is introduced into the body of the animal, which greatly improves hearing. In this case, the electrical circuit is made in such a way that the cockroach not only hears every rustle perfectly, but also has to look for the source of the sound.
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It is assumed that this technology can be used to search for victims of natural disasters - people who remained under the rubble after earthquakes and terrorist attacks.

“In a collapsed building, sound is the best way to find survivors,” says Dr. Alper Bozkurt, a professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the university, as well as a leading researcher and author of both scientific papers, which are now preparing to go to press.

In the "backpack" in biorobot - electronic equipment that controls its movements. A group of researchers of Professor Bozkurta has developed two versions of "backpacks". The first type picks up sounds from all directions and transmits a signal to the rescue brigade. The second type is equipped with a grill of directional microphones that accurately determine the direction from the sound source, after which the cyborg is sent in this direction.

The system performed well during laboratory tests.





The scientific work Acoustic Sensors for Search and Rescue by Biobots (Acoustic Sensors for Biobotic Search and Rescue) was presented on November 5 at the IEEE Sensors 2014 conference.