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by The top brass at the Pentagon has added yet another item to their technological wish list, and this time it's a request for an atomic clock which is small enough to build into a microchip. You might wonder what possible purpose such a small clock would serve; until you realize that insects like the cyborg beetle are easily lost as they fly about, and require an extremely accurate GPS system for their precise positioning and location needs. For some years DARPA's HI-MEMS program (Hybrid Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems) has been placing micro-mechanical devices into various insects while in their larvae and pupae stages in order to facilitate a stable tissue-to-machine interface as the insects develop into adults. The main purpose for these mini cyborgs, as we can well guess, is for spying and reconnaissance, but they also have merit for any application requiring the retrieval of information from small or hard to access places. Location tracking via GPS requires extremely accurate clocks in order to obtain the precise positioning needed for what I can only deem as a science fiction scenario coming to life.
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Just wait... by NomadSoul :: NR5 :: 5 days ago
The whole thing is chilling. There's a special place in the afterlife (or the next life, or whatever) reserved for people who turn living things into tools and weapons.
It won't be long before they're asking for human "volunteers" for that top secret weapons program--and if they need young ones to facilitate a stable tissue-to-machine interface, well... Has anybody seen "Gunslinger Girl?"
RE: Just wait... by gnifyus :: NR7 :: 5 days ago
I'm trying to understand why it is they need to use actual insects in the first place, unless it's real purpose is to research the beginning stages of more advanced cyborg development. Why not make a completely robotic insect, which at least would have a much longer shelf life, and be useable many times?
RE: Just wait... by NomadSoul :: NR5 :: 5 days ago
I suspect researching basic cybernetic interfaces must be part of it; but it's also very difficult to make a functioning robot insect (that is, one the size of the actual bug). I know they're working on it, but they just don't have actuators and batteries that will do the job yet.
That could change quickly, but for now, cyborgs are comparatively simple. Several years ago I saw an episode of Scientific American Frontiers where they ripped out a cockroach's antennae and replaced them with electrodes. From then on, they could literally steer the thing wherever they wanted it to go. It would be simple to switch to a wireless interface, add a camera and audio pickup, and thus recruit the world's smallest, creepiest spy.