No License Required: Moths Drive A Robot In Lab [VIDEO]

In an effort to study odor-tracking behaviors in animals, researchers in Japan employed a futuristic robotic exoskeleton capable of being driven by a moth.

The team used male silkmoths, 14 in total, and each of them was able to drive the robot to the intended target: a source of female moth sex pheromone.

Even when the researchers programed a turning bias into the robot, making it effectively more difficult to drive, the moths were still able to steer the robot to the target.

Of course, the moths had no idea they were driving the robot. They were placed on top of a ball capable of controlling the robot as it rotates, much like the trackball in an old-fashioned computer mouse. A small fan blows the female pheromone through the air, and the male moths are drawn to it. The moths are forced to walk over the ball to get to the scent; flying is not an option as the moths pinned in place by a stick attached to their back.

The goal of the study is to study the moth's antennae and sensory-motor system to eventually improve the performance of autonomous robots tasked with tracking the source of the chemical leaks and spills.

"Most chemical sensors, such as semiconductor sensors, have a slow recovery time and are not able to detect the temporal dynamics of odors as insects do," said Noriyasu Ando, the lead author of the research, according to the site ExtremeTech, which covered the story in February. "Our results will be an important indication for the selection of sensors and models when we apply the insect sensory-motor system to artificial systems."

The results of the study were published in the journal Bioinspiration and Biomimetics.