The cockroach has been the scourge of restaurants and big cities throughout history, but a roboticist may have developed a way to mimic their legendary crawling speed.
By now it's well known that scientists are experimenting with insect-electronics hybrids, resulting in some rather interesting scenarios, including remote-controlled insect drones. Now an artist has taken that idea to its next logical conclusion by creating a concept insect army.
Aphids eat plants. It's what they do. To try to get them to top devouring plants that we want to eat, we can try to kill them off with chemicals, or we can just genetically engineer a new strain of wheat to emit aphid panic pheromones. It doesn't kill the bugs, but it does scare them away.
DARPA is funding the research of miniature cameras and microphones that could be mounted like backpacks on beetles-turned-spies. That's not even the best part — the sensors will be powered by an insect's own wing movements, meaning fully independent insects able to explore the world's most dangerous places.
We've already seen laser systems that can target and shoot down mosquitoes, and we'll be honest: it's hard to beat an anti-bug battle laser. A new technique based on lasers and infrared light might be a slightly more realistic way of keeping mosquitoes at bay without having to zap each and every one.