Distancely controlled, these cyborg scarabs bluff the researchers and aim for rescue missions
Close -up on a remote controlled beetle, with a miniature printed circuit and several electrodes fixed with precision on its exoskeleton. A striking demonstration of the bio-robotic interface concept developed at the University of Queensland. © University of Queensland
What if the future of rescue in the disaster area rested not on mechanics, but on biology? At the University of Queensland, a team of engineers managed to transform Zophobas Morio, a robust scarab from Central America, into a semi-autonomous scout. The trick: an electronic backpack of a few grams, capable of precisely controlling its movements thanks to a targeted neuro-muscular stimulation.
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An insect, a neural interface, and a goal: to explore where everything else fails
Concretely, the control module weighs approximately 1.1 gram, or approximately 30 % of the total weight of the adult beetle. It includes a lithium-polymer battery, a microcontroller, a wireless transmission system, and two pairs of connected electrodes directly to the muscles of elytra and antennas. Directional control is based on unilateral stimulation of antennas: an impulse on the right causes a left turn, and vice versa. To increase the insect, the system sends a double impulse on the background muscles.
The “Zoborg” prototype, here photographed in a real situation, illustrates the agility of the increased beetles. The microcontroller fixed on the back stimulates the antennas and the motor muscles to orient their displacement remotely. © Lachlan Fitzgerald / University of Queensland
Everything is ordered via a very low consumption radio interface, similar to that of a Bluetooth controller. Autonomy remains limited – around 40 minutes continuously – but could double with miniature photovoltaic cells. The most impressive? The insect continues to move naturally, without disorientation or locomotor discomfort, even in narrow tunnels or cracks of a few centimeters.
The beetles have many natural assets that make them the masters of climbing and mobility in small and complex spaces like dense rubble, where the robots struggle to sneak. Our work uses these qualities and adds a precise directional control, without impacting the lifespan of the insect.
A credible alternative to quadruped robots?
Dr. Thang Vo -Doan, a researcher at the University of Queensland, observes a scarab Zophobas Morio remotely controlled. The insect, equipped with a miniaturized electronic backpack, is part of a biorobotics project intended for rescue missions in difficult terrain. © University of Queensland
While Boston Dynamics type robots display remarkable performance but high mass inertia, living insects have intrinsic biomechanical efficiency. No stabilization algorithm or balancing engine is necessary: the living adapts, reacts, compensates. The Australian team now puts on the addition of ultra-light optical sensors (less than 0.1 g) and Lora communication modules to transform these scarabs into a real field relays, capable of mapping in real time a disaster area.
The publication in Advanced Science details climbing tests on walls tilted at 45 °, the simulations of urban rubble, and the success rates of the control: more than 93 % of directional response in a winding corridor of 2 meters.
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