Activists are going to need to stock up on bug spray – Remote controlled moths now an MIT success!!!

ozhouse.org

The clueless journalist at Gizmodo is so stuck on how “cool” it is, they cannot fathom what big brother is going to do with it. I would highly recommend activists keep lots of bug spray at hand and that they use that spray liberally. Every insect is a potential spook now.

gizmodo.co.uk

Those crazy scientists over at MIT have managed to install “neural probes” in a moth the size of a fist that lets them actually control it during flight. It’s all part of DARPA’s mad scheme to turn insects into the next generation of spy drones.

Researchers have been trying to control insects for years – hell, we even plumbed-up cockroaches with electrodes when I was at university to get them to run around the bench, but it was nothing as sophisticated as this.

The breakthrough is apparently down to the neural probe itself. It’s made of a special type of polyimide polymer covered in gold and carbon nanotubes that mimics the electrical properties of the tobacco hawkmoth’s own nerves. The probe contains five separate electrodes that stimulate different parts of the moth’s nervous system, allowing them to wirelessly control the insect during flight – press left and it flies left, press right and it flies right – how awesome is that?

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