Scientists Use Cyborg Insect Swarm to Map Dangerous Environments

Scientists have discovered a new way to map unknown environments: cyborg swarms. They're employing masses of insect robots, also known as "biobots," in order to investigate locales that may be too dangerous for humans, such as collapsed buildings.

So how would this process actually work? A swarm of biobots, such as remotely controlled cockroaches equipped with electrical "backpacks," would be released into a hard-to-reach area. The biobots would initially be allowed to move about randomly and because the biobots couldn't be tracked by GPS, their precise locations would be unknown.

However, their sensors would signal researchers via radio waves whenever the biobots got close to each other. Once the swarm spread out, the scientists would send a signal commanding the biobots to keep moving until they find a wall or other unbroken surface and then continue moving along the wall as they collected data. This would allow them to map the environment.

"We focused on how to map areas where you have little or no precise information on where each biobot is, such as a collapsed building where you can't use GPS technology," said Edgar Lobaton, one of the researchers, in a news release. "One characteristic of biobots is that their movement can be somewhat random. We're exploiting that random movement to work in our favor."

Unfortunately, this is all just in theory and has yet to be truly tested in the field. Yet it does pave the way for future research and it has been tested with computer models. Currently, the researchers have developed software to collect just this type of data. The software uses an algorithm to translate the biobot sensor data into a rough map of the unknown environment. In addition, the programming can also allow public safety officials to determine the location of radioactive or chemical threats if the biobots have been equipped with the relevant sensors.

"This would give first responders a good idea of the layout in a previously unmapped area," said Lobaton in a news release.

The findings are published online here.