Researchers Use Kinect to Control Roaches with a Remote [Video]

Researchers have used Kinect system to control cockroaches with a remote. The system makes the roach travel a defined path by sending short bursts of electric current through the antennae. The technology has many applications in military and rescue operations.

The latest study on connecting technology with biological life-forms was conducted at the North Carolina State University where researchers built an electronic interface that can control cockroaches.

The researchers used a kinect program to track the movements of a cockroach. The program used kinect to control the insect and keep it on a digitally plotted path.

The scientists also collected data from the system to analyze how the insects respond to the commands from the interface. The data will help researchers modify their design and make it more efficient.

"Our goal is to be able to guide these roaches as efficiently as possible, and our work with Kinect is helping us do that," said Dr. Alper Bozkurt, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at NC State and co-author of the study paper.

They said that the roaches could also be fitted with microphones that could help locate survivors in inaccessible sites such as collapsed buildings.

"We want to build on this program, incorporating mapping and radio frequency techniques that will allow us to use a small group of cockroaches to explore and map disaster sites," Bozkurt said in a news release. "The autopilot program would control the roaches, sending them on the most efficient routes to provide rescuers with a comprehensive view of the situation."

The study "Kinect-based System for Automated Control of Terrestrial Insect Biobots," will be presented at the Remote Controlled Insect Biobots Minisymposium at the 35th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society July 4 in Osaka, Japan.