Horned Beetle Cyborg
Recently, the military makes use of tiny spies of miniature robots to monitor enemy locations undetected. These miniature robots were designed to mimic the movements of insects or bugs and their size enable them to be effective spies.
But researchers are now experimenting on a new breed of spies that makes use of real insects or bugs which could be more effective and efficient in terms of project costs.
During the initial stages of development, the larvae or pupae being immobile at the time will be implanted with tiny monitoring devices such as a camera and a microchip. "As these cyborgs heal from their surgery while they naturally metamorphose from one developmental stage to the next — for instance, from caterpillar to butterfly — the result would yield a more reliable connection between the devices and the insects, the thinking goes", DARPA.
DARPA's prototype of an insect cyborg
The Hybrid Insect Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (HI-MEMS) program has sponsored this research of surgically implanting microchips directly into insects body, as they grow their nerves and muscles intertwining with the circuitry that can then steer the critters. To date, HI-MEMS supported cybug projects on Roaches, Horned Beetles and Moths.
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