US National Security: Navy Spends $75K For Bomb Sniffing Robot Locust, Technology Better Than Dogs?

United States Navy gives $750,000 financial support to Washington University researchers for bomb sniffing robot locust project to heighten national security. The team leader revealed that using locusts is more convenient than using dogs because using locust has an easier surgery to input sensors.

The bomb sniffing robot locust project is being led by Baranidharan Raman. He said that by using the combined ability of locusts' incredible sense of smell and its specialized electronic characteristic, the idea of a bomb sniffing robot insect is a possible technology to develop.

"It took only a few hundred milliseconds for the locust's brain to begin tracking a novel odor introduced in its surroundings," Rama said in his interview on BBC. He also added that bomb sniffing robot is processing chemical cues in a fast phase.

The bomb sniffing robot locust works through heat generating sensors that are implanted in the locusts' brain. These tools will send information to a chip, a silk tattoo applied on their wings. The tattoo will interpret and signal authorities when they detect a possible danger, Perf Science reported.

The tattoo on bomb sniffing robot locusts was developed by Srikanth Singamaeni who is an associate professor of material science at Wash University. After few hours of surgery, they can recover immediately and walk normally. Reportedly, his team is not certain about how the locusts are used for improved safety.

A different team of researchers from Cambodia is also doing the same bomb sniffing robot project but this team is using rats instead. Reportedly, the said research has helped the safe disposal of thousands of landmines in Cambodia.

The bomb sniffing robot locusts research is in its early phases and Raman believes that this will be available within two years. As the research continues, it is believed to be a valuable asset in finding hidden explosives that ensure better security, Science Alert reported.