Cyborg Moths Used to Track Smells

Posted by on November 17th, 2010

Japanese scientists have created a cyborg moth that can track odors by plugging a robot into the moth’s nervous system. The robot’s actions were controlled by electrodes plugged into the moth and the brain signals were rerouted to the motors of the robot. When the moth was exposed to the smell of a female, the robot replicated the moth dance in an attempt to track down the odor. Scientists believe that they can use this system in tracking down explosives.

[New Scientist]

2 Responses to “Cyborg Moths Used to Track Smells”

  1. John Hoyt Says:
    November 17th, 2010 at 6:44 pm

    Maybe it could be used to go grab me a cheeseburger off the grill. “Burger-bot! Go get my cheeseburger!”

  2. EbonNebula Says:
    November 17th, 2010 at 11:10 pm

    Finally, we can use science to empirically answer the age old question, “Who farted?”