News of the Weird
March 14, 2009 at 5:00 am by Web Editor in NewsLEAD STORY: University of California researchers, on a
Pentagon contract, announced in January success at rigging a live
flower beetle with electrodes and a radio receiver to enable scientists
to control the insect’s flight remotely. Pulses sent to the bug’s
muscles or optic lobes can command it to take off, turn left or right,
or hover, according to a report in MIT’s Technology Review,
and the insect’s “large” size (up to a whopping 4 inches in length)
would enable it to also carry a camera, giving the beetle military uses
such as surveillance or search and rescue. The researchers admired the
native flight-control ability of the beetle so much that they abandoned
developing robot beetles (which required trying to mimic nature).
Continue reading News of the Weird.
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