Prototype cyborg moth
Higgins explained that he had been trying to build a computer chip that would do what brains do when processing visual images. He found that a chip that can function nearly like the human brain would cost about $60,000.
“At that price, I thought I was getting lower quality than if I was just accessing the brain of an insect which costs, well, considerably less,” he said. “If you have a living system, it has sensory systems that are far beyond what we can build. It’s doable, but we’re having to push the limits of current technology to do it.”
Higgins is also experimenting with tapping into the moth’s muscles and olfactory senses. If he can work with the muscles, for instance, a strapped down moth trying to move in a certain direction would actually propel the robot.
“We’re developing a lot of technology that could be used for prosthetic applications,” said the researcher. “There are lots of people working on connecting functional brains to people who have nonworking limbs. You connect to the brain and send the information to a human limb or robotic limb. It’s an area that is closely related to what we’re doing.”
And there are people out there worried about cloning research and stem cells. Personally the thought of robots controlled by insects is way more terrifying. Imagine the first spider hooked up like this. Wheeling around in his little robot chariot trying to kill people for stepping on his ancestors.
Thank you Professor Higgins. Couldn’t you have stuck to teaching English flower girls to speak properly.
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