Meet the Israeli robot that 'hears' through a dead locust's ear - Watch
When the researchers clap once, the locust's ear hears the sound and the robot moves forward; when the researchers clap twice, the robot moves backward.
By Jerusalem Post Staff, March 2, 2021
The ear of a locust is seen inside a special sensory chip. (photo credit: TEL AVIV UNIVERSITY)
In an unprecedented biological and technological development,
researchers from Tel Aviv University (TAU) have successfully connected
the ear of a dead locust to a robot that receives electrical signals from it, and responds accordingly.
Video from the study reveals extraordinary results: When the researchers clap once, the locust's ear hears the sound and the robot moves forward; when the researchers clap twice, the robot moves backward.
Israeli scientists develop breakthrough in using animal parts for electronics - Dr. Ben Maoz, Mar.4, 2021
The study, which was published in the prestigious journal Sensors, sought to examine how to integrate advantages seen in biological systems into technology.
“We
chose the sense of hearing, because it can be easily compared to
existing technologies, in contrast to the sense of smell, for example,
where the challenge is much greater,” says Dr. Ben M. Maoz of TAU's Iby
and Aladar Fleischman Faculty of Engineering and the Sagol School of
Neuroscience, who supervised the study together with Prof. Yossi Yovel
and Prof. Amir Ayali, experts from Sagol and the School of Zoology.
“Our
task was to replace the robot's electronic microphone with a dead
insect's ear, use the ear’s ability to detect the electrical signals
from the environment – in this case vibrations in the air – and, using a
special chip, convert the insect input to that of the robot,” Maoz
said.
The
interdisciplinary study was led by Idan Fishel, a joint graduate
student, and included researchers Dr. Anton Sheinin, Yoni Amit, and Neta
Shavil.
In a
multidisciplinary collaboration, the researchers were able to isolate
and characterize the dead locust's ear and keep it "alive" - meaning
functional - long enough to successfully connect it to the robot. In the
final stage of the study, the researchers succeeded in finding a way to
pick up the signals received by the locust’s ear in a way that it could
be used by the robot to respond accordingly.
Maoz
stressed the study's potential impact on the energy industry, saying
that “It should be understood that biological systems expend negligible
energy compared to electronic systems. They are miniature, and therefore
also extremely economical and efficient.
“In general, biological systems have a huge advantage over
technological systems - both in terms of sensitivity and in terms of
energy consumption," he said. "This initiative opens the door to sensory
integrations between robots and insects - and may make much more
cumbersome and expensive developments in the field of robotics
redundant."
He
also elaborated on future sensory directions that research of this kind
can take, including sight and smell. Certain animals have been known to
see spectrums of light which go beyond the capabilities of the human
eye. Others can sniff out drugs, bombs, certain diseases and even earthquakes.
"The sky is the limit," he concluded.
That is simply amazing, I should have kept my collection of Mammoths eyeballs instead of using them as bowling balls & selling them to Fred Flintstone.
Neander-Troll says :Be sure to recommend and follow Chucks " Life of Earth " Blog at:
|
| That is simply amazing, I should have kept my collection of Mammoths eyeballs instead of using them as bowling balls & selling them to Fred Flintstone. Neander-Troll says :Be sure to recommend and follow Chucks " Life of Earth " Blog at: |
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