Remotely controlled roaches could search for survivors

The researchers are using the technology to track how cockroaches respond to the remote control, with the goal of developing ways that cockroaches on autopilot can be used to map dynamic environments such as collapsed buildings.

The researchers have incorporated Microsoft’s motion-sensing Kinect system into an electronic interface developed at NC State that can remotely control cockroaches.

The researchers plug in a digitally plotted path for the cockroach, and use Kinect to identify and track the insect’s progress. The program then uses the Kinect tracking data to automatically steer the cockroach along the desired path.

The program is also said to use Kinect to collect data on how the cockroaches respond to the electrical impulses from the remote-control interface. This data will help the researchers fine-tune the steering parameters needed to control the cockroaches more precisely.

‘Our goal is to be able to guide these cockroaches 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 a paper on the work.