A team of researchers from Washington University are working to engineer cybernetic bomb-seeking locusts that could process and identify explosives by smell.
Of all the things you expected to read today, would bomb-seeking locusts top the headlines? Probably not, but you’re here now!
A team of engineers based at Washington University in St.Louis have designed a series of cybernetic locusts which are equipped with several pieces of technology; the goal of which is to use locusts to sniff out explosive devices.
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The leader of the project, Baranidharan Raman, has received a three-year $750,000 USD grant from the US Office of Naval Research to develop bomb-seeking locusts.
Raman’s team has been responsible for studies into how locusts process smells, and his team of researchers has determined that locusts are capable of identifying particular scents even in amongst other odors.
Citing the natural sensors within a locust’s antennae, Raman offers his belief that cyborg locusts would be much more effective than robots or automated drones. “Even the state-of-the-art miniaturized chemical sensing devices have a handful of sensors. On the other hand, if you look at the insect antenna, where their chemical sensors are located, there are several hundreds of thousands of sensors and of a variety of types.”
The team of researchers plan to implant locusts with electrodes to override their antennae and hence detect electrical activity. Further, a backpack installed on the back of a locust can transmit garnered data. A receiver analyses that data and emits a red light in the presence of an explosive, and a green light should none be detected.
Lastly, each bomb-seeking locust will receive a tattoo on their wings, which will convert light into heat. A laser installed on the backpack could hence allow an operator to control the locust by means of heating either wing to head in a direction. For instance, heating the left wing would make the locust turn left.
Raman’s team aims to complete their first prototype within a year, and plan to conclude the project two years from now.
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What are your thoughts on the development of bomb-seeking locusts? Is the project unethical, or invaluable? Be sure to let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Follow Bryan Smith on Twitter: @bryansmithSA
Source: Washington University in St. Louis
