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Electronic Roaches to Detect Chemicals/Explosives
Rahul Srinivas, Jan 06, 2009 1141 hrs ISTScientists are trying to use an insect's keen sense of smell to detect organic bombs and harmful chemicals
Insects have always been a subject of great interest for our scientists. Although they might be just another dumb creature for most of us, scientists see them as exceptional masterpieces of natural engineering. Insects have outlived most other species that we know of, and it's their ability to withstand extreme conditions that has kept researchers interested in our six-legged co-inhabitants.
Their sensory attributes include a very keen sense of smell that scientists are trying to tap into in the hope that they can act as detectors of organic bombs and harmful chemicals. This process, however, requires the embedding of chips inside the bodies of these tiny creatures. While all things went as planned, they hit a major roadblock when it came to powering these embedded chips. Inbuilt cells would have made the chips bulkier, and they needed a mechanism to "self power" these chips.
In an experiment, scientists have shown how cockroaches can be made to power electronic chips placed inside them. These very chips are used to trigger electrical impulses that can be used to control the insect and make it move in a particular direction or perform a certain act; what the scientists did was to use the minimal amount of energy released by the cockroaches as they walked. After gluing a piezoelectric fibre along the back of a cockroach, the insect was made to walk; the mechanical stress created in the cockroach's body by its walk was capable of producing tiny amounts of electricity. The researchers concluded that a cockroach is capable of producing as much as 10 millivolts in a single fiber. To power the chips, they would need at least 100 of the piezoelectric fibers.
In the future, this technique might be applied to larger insects or even mammals like rats, which could enable scientists to "generate" more power.
Their sensory attributes include a very keen sense of smell that scientists are trying to tap into in the hope that they can act as detectors of organic bombs and harmful chemicals. This process, however, requires the embedding of chips inside the bodies of these tiny creatures. While all things went as planned, they hit a major roadblock when it came to powering these embedded chips. Inbuilt cells would have made the chips bulkier, and they needed a mechanism to "self power" these chips.
In an experiment, scientists have shown how cockroaches can be made to power electronic chips placed inside them. These very chips are used to trigger electrical impulses that can be used to control the insect and make it move in a particular direction or perform a certain act; what the scientists did was to use the minimal amount of energy released by the cockroaches as they walked. After gluing a piezoelectric fibre along the back of a cockroach, the insect was made to walk; the mechanical stress created in the cockroach's body by its walk was capable of producing tiny amounts of electricity. The researchers concluded that a cockroach is capable of producing as much as 10 millivolts in a single fiber. To power the chips, they would need at least 100 of the piezoelectric fibers.
In the future, this technique might be applied to larger insects or even mammals like rats, which could enable scientists to "generate" more power.
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