Locust cyborg will search for explosives
“To release a locust sapper”, - such a team in two years may be able to give the leaders of the demining units through research conducted today by a group of American scientists and engineers from the University of Washington in St. Louis. In order to turn the locust into a guided bio-cyborg US Navy, interested in an early result, has already allocated a three-year grant in the amount of $ 750,000 to the group leader Baranidharan Raman.
A team of engineers from the University of Washington at St. Louis under the leadership of Raman Baranidharan expects to use the natural capabilities of the locust smell mechanism to create promising sensing systems that can be used to detect explosives.
Baranidharan Raman, an associate professor at the School of Biomedical Engineering at the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, managed to provide the management of the United States Naval Research Authority (ONR) with sufficiently strong arguments in favor of the development prospects and receive a three-year grant of $ 750,000 required for research. This amount allowed not only to ensure the interest of key specialists in various fields of knowledge, but also to create all the conditions for conducting fruitful experiments.
')
Extensive research conducted by the Raman laboratory over the past few years has made it possible to study in detail how a relatively simple locust brain receives and processes sensory signals. The researchers came to the conclusion that even minor changes in the chemical composition of the air, which become the cause of the smell, provoke almost instantaneous dynamic neural activity of the brain of the insect. As shown by experiments, using this simplest mechanism, the locust is able to accurately identify a specific smell, even as part of many others.
A series of experiments aimed at studying the locust's ability to acquire selective response skills to specific odors brought a positive result. Moreover, the locust, having undergone "training", was able to accurately identify the desired smell, not only as part of the many others, but also when exposed to the burdening perception of background conditions.
“Why reinvent the wheel? Why not take advantage of ready-made constructional biological solutions? - Raman says - But ... even the most advanced miniature chemical devices today use only a few sensors. On the other hand, it is worth looking at the antennae of insects, and you will consider several hundreds of thousands of sensors, and of various types. It’s not simpler and more efficient to use these natural possibilities for the detection of explosives. "Experimental results collected by Raman over several years of studying insects also look quite convincing. They also confirm that their olfactory organs work much more efficiently and efficiently than the most modern sensor technologies.
In accordance with the task, Raman and a team of fellow programmers, materials scientists, and circuit engineers suggested using the natural capabilities of the locust sensory sensory system as the basis for developing a “bio-hybrid nose”. To reach the goal, researchers are going in several stages.
Task N1. “Biological sensing systems are an order of magnitude more complicated than their cybernetic counterparts. This fully applies to the chemical sensing system responsible for smelling, ”explained Raman. In order to turn a malicious insect into a creature that can save lives, of course, surgical intervention will be required. For this purpose, special sensors are planned to be implanted into the brain of the locust, which will allow to decode neural impulses. According to Raman, a few hours after such an operation, the insect is already in perfect order.
Task N2 is to develop a miniature backpack-transmitter with LEDs, fixed on the back of the locust and transmitting signals from the brain of the insect to the receiver. A situation where the smell is not recognized will correspond to a burning green LED, and when the smell is identified, it is accompanied by a red light.
Task N3 is to turn the locust into an “aircraft” controlled from the ground and develop a system that allows the insect to be directed to the place where the potential explosives are laid. The researchers intend to solve this problem with the help of a specific “tattoo” on the wings, applied by biocompatible silk. Low-energy laser beam directed by the operator, getting to the tattoo turns into heat. When focusing the beam on a tattoo located on the left wing, the insect is reoriented to the left, and vice versa.
Another irreplaceable advantage of the technology proposed by a group of American researchers is an incredible odor recognition rate: in order to identify any of them locusts will be enough for a fraction of a second.
In addition, tattoos literally covered with plasmon nanostructures will allow collecting samples of volatile organic compounds in the contact zone to study their chemical composition using more traditional methods.
According to information published on the website of the university, the Raman group will be able to submit a prototype cyborg-locust in a year. Taking into account the recent work of the professor and the rating of his laboratory in scientific circles, this promise no longer seems so unlikely. If the plans of the researchers are fulfilled, then in two years the squadron of flying bio-cyborgs will set off on their first reconnaissance mission.
About the laboratory of Raman Baranidharan
Research conducted in the laboratory of Raman aimed at understanding the organization and principles of functioning of biological sensory systems used by a relatively simple olfactory system of invertebrates. To achieve this goal, combining various electrophysiological registration methods and computational modeling methods, scientists are investigating how multidimensional and dynamic odor signals are encoded in a neural representation (odor coding) and processed in the brain.
Understanding how the brain interprets complex sensory stimuli is essential for developing neuromorphic
devices and algorithms for solving parallel engineering problems. In collaboration with the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the laboratory of Professor Raman is currently developing a neuromorphic "electronic nose" based on the MEMS microarray array for non-invasive chemical sensing. Potential target applications for electronic nose technology include medical diagnostics, national security, environmental monitoring, space research, robotics, and human-computer interaction.
A source
That's all with you was Dronk.Ru. Do not forget to return money for purchases in China and subscribe to our blog , there will be many more interesting things.
We recommend:
- Save up to 8% on every purchase on AliExpress and other online stores in China
- Why do online stores give money for purchases?
- Return your money - Choose a cashback service for Aliexpress
- The history of the development of Dronk.ru - from choosing quadcopters to returning money for purchases on AliExpress and not only
- The best cashback service or 5 main criteria for evaluating cashback service
A team of engineers from the University of Washington at St. Louis under the leadership of Raman Baranidharan expects to use the natural capabilities of the locust smell mechanism to create promising sensing systems that can be used to detect explosives.
Baranidharan Raman, an associate professor at the School of Biomedical Engineering at the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, managed to provide the management of the United States Naval Research Authority (ONR) with sufficiently strong arguments in favor of the development prospects and receive a three-year grant of $ 750,000 required for research. This amount allowed not only to ensure the interest of key specialists in various fields of knowledge, but also to create all the conditions for conducting fruitful experiments.
')
Extensive research conducted by the Raman laboratory over the past few years has made it possible to study in detail how a relatively simple locust brain receives and processes sensory signals. The researchers came to the conclusion that even minor changes in the chemical composition of the air, which become the cause of the smell, provoke almost instantaneous dynamic neural activity of the brain of the insect. As shown by experiments, using this simplest mechanism, the locust is able to accurately identify a specific smell, even as part of many others.
A series of experiments aimed at studying the locust's ability to acquire selective response skills to specific odors brought a positive result. Moreover, the locust, having undergone "training", was able to accurately identify the desired smell, not only as part of the many others, but also when exposed to the burdening perception of background conditions.
“Why reinvent the wheel? Why not take advantage of ready-made constructional biological solutions? - Raman says - But ... even the most advanced miniature chemical devices today use only a few sensors. On the other hand, it is worth looking at the antennae of insects, and you will consider several hundreds of thousands of sensors, and of various types. It’s not simpler and more efficient to use these natural possibilities for the detection of explosives. "Experimental results collected by Raman over several years of studying insects also look quite convincing. They also confirm that their olfactory organs work much more efficiently and efficiently than the most modern sensor technologies.
In accordance with the task, Raman and a team of fellow programmers, materials scientists, and circuit engineers suggested using the natural capabilities of the locust sensory sensory system as the basis for developing a “bio-hybrid nose”. To reach the goal, researchers are going in several stages.
Task N1. “Biological sensing systems are an order of magnitude more complicated than their cybernetic counterparts. This fully applies to the chemical sensing system responsible for smelling, ”explained Raman. In order to turn a malicious insect into a creature that can save lives, of course, surgical intervention will be required. For this purpose, special sensors are planned to be implanted into the brain of the locust, which will allow to decode neural impulses. According to Raman, a few hours after such an operation, the insect is already in perfect order.
Task N2 is to develop a miniature backpack-transmitter with LEDs, fixed on the back of the locust and transmitting signals from the brain of the insect to the receiver. A situation where the smell is not recognized will correspond to a burning green LED, and when the smell is identified, it is accompanied by a red light.
Task N3 is to turn the locust into an “aircraft” controlled from the ground and develop a system that allows the insect to be directed to the place where the potential explosives are laid. The researchers intend to solve this problem with the help of a specific “tattoo” on the wings, applied by biocompatible silk. Low-energy laser beam directed by the operator, getting to the tattoo turns into heat. When focusing the beam on a tattoo located on the left wing, the insect is reoriented to the left, and vice versa.
Another irreplaceable advantage of the technology proposed by a group of American researchers is an incredible odor recognition rate: in order to identify any of them locusts will be enough for a fraction of a second.
In addition, tattoos literally covered with plasmon nanostructures will allow collecting samples of volatile organic compounds in the contact zone to study their chemical composition using more traditional methods.
According to information published on the website of the university, the Raman group will be able to submit a prototype cyborg-locust in a year. Taking into account the recent work of the professor and the rating of his laboratory in scientific circles, this promise no longer seems so unlikely. If the plans of the researchers are fulfilled, then in two years the squadron of flying bio-cyborgs will set off on their first reconnaissance mission.
About the laboratory of Raman Baranidharan
Research conducted in the laboratory of Raman aimed at understanding the organization and principles of functioning of biological sensory systems used by a relatively simple olfactory system of invertebrates. To achieve this goal, combining various electrophysiological registration methods and computational modeling methods, scientists are investigating how multidimensional and dynamic odor signals are encoded in a neural representation (odor coding) and processed in the brain.
Understanding how the brain interprets complex sensory stimuli is essential for developing neuromorphic
devices and algorithms for solving parallel engineering problems. In collaboration with the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the laboratory of Professor Raman is currently developing a neuromorphic "electronic nose" based on the MEMS microarray array for non-invasive chemical sensing. Potential target applications for electronic nose technology include medical diagnostics, national security, environmental monitoring, space research, robotics, and human-computer interaction.
A source
That's all with you was Dronk.Ru. Do not forget to return money for purchases in China and subscribe to our blog , there will be many more interesting things.
We recommend:
- Save up to 8% on every purchase on AliExpress and other online stores in China
- Why do online stores give money for purchases?
- Return your money - Choose a cashback service for Aliexpress
- The history of the development of Dronk.ru - from choosing quadcopters to returning money for purchases on AliExpress and not only
- The best cashback service or 5 main criteria for evaluating cashback service
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/369469/
All Articles