In a breakthrough heralded by some as "a major advancement toward the annihilation of the human species," a military contractor known as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) is utilizing robotic hybrid insects for surveillance and intel gathering. Using microelectromechanical systems or (MEMS), researchers are able to control the movements and flight of insects with a remote control and a GPS system.
Big Mothra is watching...
Darpa is funding four research groups at various universities for a four-phased development/deployment strategy. The third phase is the demonstration of a remote-controlled, "tethered" insect and then positioning the insect within 5 meters of a target from 100 meters away. The fourth phase...
...as stated in this article in the EE Times includes "breeding insect battalions." We suggest a fifth phase in the program: Drop to your knees and accept Jesus Christ, Allah, Jaweh, or Bringham Young as your lord and savior, ASAP! Remember, you only get one, so choose wisely.
"What? That? Oh that's just a new hat I bought. Now go on, you were saying that America is the great Satan...."
The universities are focusing on moths and horned beetles as their subjects.
Says Peter Eckersley, a staff technologist at the Electronics Frontier Foundation, a non-robotic, watch-dog group, "Anyone who is just a little bit creative can imagine both useful and non-productive applications of remote-controlled animals--especially if ordinary people will mistake them for normal animals." Just reading that sentence we came up with 10 non-productive applications of a cyborg animal...this guy ain't kidding!
The cyborg insects or as we have decided to call them, "robugs," will most likely be used initially for surveillance, intelligence gathering, secret-meeting listening, sniffing air for chemicals and tracking targets. Their further uses, however, are truly intriguing.
The President and CEO of Darpa in front of one of his first projects (early 1990's)
Thomas Easton, the author of Sparrowhawk, a book at accurately predicted the use of cyborg animals, postulates (also quoted in the EE Times article), "Moths are extraordinarily sensitive to sex attractants, so instead of giving bank robbers money treated with dye, they could use sex attractants instead...then, a moth-based HI-MEMS could find the robber by following the scent."
How do you spot the bank robber of the future? He's the guy at the bus stop who's being humped by 175 moths. Case closed!
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Comments
Wonder how they'd go when you switched on the Bug Zapper?
Posted by: Snail | October 5, 2007 9:53 PM
Slate did an article titled "I Want to Become a Mad Scientist" highlighting the Cyborg Moth. I blogged on it in August, you can find the link there to the Slate.com article.
Posted by: kevin z | October 6, 2007 12:51 PM
Well!!! This adds a whole new and frightening dimension to the "fly on the wall" . . . Now we really will have surveillance flies sitting on walls gathering info. I must rush out and get a can of fly spray at once!
Posted by: Mrs Hilary Victoria Minor | October 6, 2007 3:08 PM
It would be really cool to control venomous insects or even equip normal insects with artificial venom. Just think about the moth on the wall that nips Bin Ladin, Sadr, or the bearded monkey on the big toe while he is sleeping. Po-210 would make a great venom for a Borg-bug. So would Ricin.
Posted by: Andrew P | April 22, 2008 7:33 AM
Andrew P you truly are a redneck.
Wake up and see Bin Laden is just a puppet / bogeyman.
Posted by: Matt | April 22, 2008 10:53 AM
thanks. by Brooklyn
Posted by: cet | March 26, 2009 9:30 AM