海角大神

The latest in search-and-rescue technology could fit in the palm of your hand, although it is just as likely to try to scurry out of it.聽

Researchers at聽North Carolina State University have developed cyborg cockroaches to help locate survivors in the aftermath of a disaster.聽Equipped with backpacks loaded with tiny microphones and trackers, the bugs could be used to help , according to a press release from NCSU.

NPR reports that the cockroaches can be controlled by tiny responsible for controlling the front legs.

The researchers have also developed technology that can be used as an 鈥渋nvisible fence鈥� to keep the cockroaches in the disaster area.

鈥淚鈥檓 always open to additional assets at a rubble site,鈥� says Harry Oakes SAR Coordinator for聽听辞蹿 Longview, Washington in an interview. 鈥淚 was in Turkey back in 鈥�99 after the quake and we found people alive 10 days later. But even though you locate the victim it can still take hours and hours to get to them. If cockroaches can get us there faster, then I鈥檓 all for it.鈥�

Roger D. Kamm, a professor of biological and mechanical engineering at MIT,聽says in an interview, 鈥淭his is very exciting work that鈥檚 being done. There are a lot of biological systems we can鈥檛 reproduce. Just the cockroach鈥檚 ability to easily and quickly crawl up walls, into confined spaces is hard to reproduce in a robotic creation.鈥�

The research team has created two types of customized backpacks using microphones. One type of 'biobot,' as the cybernetically augmented bugs are known, has a single microphone that can capture relatively high-resolution sound from any direction to be wirelessly transmitted to first responders, according to the release.聽The second type is equipped with an array of three directional microphones to detect the sound's source.聽The system worked well during laboratory testing, the researchers say.

The project is funded by National Science Foundation CyberPhysical Systems Program and has a long-term goal of both mapping disaster areas and pinpointing survivors.

The researchers is also working with collaborator Mihail Sichitiu of聽聽NCSU to develop the next generation of biobot networking and localization or 鈥渋nvisible fence鈥� technology.

This is significant because it can be used to keep biobots at a disaster site and to keep the biobots within range of each other so that they can be used as a reliable mobile wireless network.

鈥淥f course a cockroach will never replace a search-and-rescue dog or have the same capabilities the dog has,鈥� Says Mr. Oakes. 鈥淥n the other hand, the dogs can鈥檛 do what the cockroaches can do.

鈥淚 think we鈥檙e going to see more interface and integration between biology and robotics as a result of this type of research,鈥� Mr. Kamm says. 鈥淏eing able to redesign living organisms to turn into biological robots we can control is very exciting.鈥�