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From Times Online

May 24, 2007

Can cyborg moths bring down terrorists?

A moth which has a computer chip implanted in it while in the cocoon will enable soldiers to spy on insurgents, the US military hopes

Jonathan Richards

At some point in the not too distant future, a moth will take flight in the hills of northern Pakistan, and flap towards a suspected terrorist training camp.

But this will be no ordinary moth.

Inside it will be a computer chip that was implanted when the creature was still a pupa, in the cocoon, meaning that the moth’s entire nervous system can be controlled remotely.

The moth will thus be capable of landing in the camp without arousing suspicion, all the while beaming video and other information back to its masters via what its developers refer to as a “reliable tissue-machine interface.”

The creation of insects whose flesh grows around computer parts – known from science fiction as ‘cyborgs’ – has been described as one of the most ambitious robotics projects ever conceived by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa), the research and development arm of the US Department of Defense.

Rod Brooks, director of the computer science and artificial intelligence lab at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), which is involved with the research, said that robotics was increasingly at the forefront of US military research, and that the remote-controlled moths, described by DARPA as Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems, or MEMS, were one of a number of technologies soon to be deployed in combat zones.

“This is going to happen," said Mr Brooks. "It’s not science like developing the nuclear bomb, which costs billions of dollars. It can be done relatively cheaply.”

“Moths are creatures that need little food and can fly all kinds of places," he continued. "A bunch of experiments have been done over the past couple of years where simple animals, such as rats and cockroaches, have been operated on and driven by joysticks, but this is the first time where the chip has been injected in the pupa stage and ‘grown’ inside it.

“Once the moth hatches, machine learning is used to control it.”

Mr Brooks, who has worked on robotic technology for more than 30 years and whose company iRobot already supplies the US military with robots that defuse explosive devices laid by insurgents, said that the military would be increasingly reliant on ‘semi-autonomous’ devices, including ones which could fire.

“The DoD has said it wants one third of all missions to be unmanned by 2015, and there’s no doubt their things will become weaponised, so the question comes: should they given targeting authority?

“The prevailing view in the army at the moment seems to be that they shouldn’t, but perhaps it’s time to consider updating treaties like the Geneva Convention to include clauses which regulate their use.”

Debates such as those over stem cell research would “pale in comparison” to the increasingly blurred distinction between creatures – including humans – and machines, Mr Brooks, told an audience at the University of Southampton’s School of Electronics and Computer Science.

“Biological engineering is coming. There are already more than 100,000 people with cochlear implants, which have a direct neural connection, and chips are being inserted in people’s retinas to combat macular degeneration. By the 2012 Olympics, we’re going to be dealing with systems which can aid the oxygen uptake of athletes.

“There’s going to be more and more technology in our bodies, and to stomp on all this technology and try to prevent it happening is just… well, there’s going to be a lot of moral debates,” he said.

Another robot developed as part of the US military’s ‘Future Combat Systems’ program was a small, unmanned vehicle known as a SUGV (pronounced ‘sug-vee’) which could be dispatched in front of troops to gauge the threat in an urban environment, Mr Brooks said.

The 13.6kg device, which measures less than a metre squared and can survive a drop of 10m onto concrete, has a small ‘head’ with infra-red and regular cameras which send information back to a command unit, as well as an audio-sensing feature called ‘Red Owl’ which can determine the direction from which enemy fire originates.

“It’s designed to be the troop's eyes and ears and, unlike one of its predecessors, this one can swim, too,” Mr Brooks said.

I would rather have a robotic moth land in a terrorists camp than have a non robotic terrorist land in my front yard. Does anyone have an better idea on how to find and stop these terrorist from killing innocent people? Rember these( A-holes ) have been killing and torturing anyone that doesn't have the same religious beliefs as they do, long before the U.S. ever got involved. I'm sure the world will be a much better place to live if the.U.S.and its allies decide to pull the pin on this war. I'm so looking forward to going to a resturant with the wife and kids and having the place blow up in the middle of dinner. I hope someone figures it out, because I don't want to wear pajamas and lug around a rifle all day long. If everyone could funnel all that negative energy into something positive we wouldn't have to create cyborg moths and maybe we could enjoy the short time we have on this planet !!!

Gerald, minneapolis, US minnesota

You biased people are not dieing on the battlefield or loosing your life, limbs or eyes to the threat of enemy fire or your children, brothers, fathers or lovers to the horrors of warfare. I say go for it, like yesterday. Its not that much different from, drug sniffing dogs, seeing eye dogs or police attack dogs or implanting a chip in a pet to identify it or its handicaps. Animals have always been used in warfare.
An Oklahoma City bomb witness.

Charles, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Wow. The hovering surveillance cameras in Half-Life 2 were very disconcerting. These are far more so, and, unfortunately, less fictional. This is morally atrocious on many levels.

Andy, Sunderland, England

Why not have wasp stationed along all highways to give out stinging tickets, then no one will sin....

i, town, country

Remote controlled animals???? Does no-one even think that this is morally wrong? Play around with your robots as mush as you like, but "controlling" animals is just downright evil. And please don't tell me a cochlear impant put into a willing and informed human to improve their quality of life is the same as growing a uniformed, unwilling, bilogical animal (from pupea stage, for gods sake!) with the intent of using it to kill peole!
Its like saying sex between consenting adults is the same as with animals or children. Think about it. This is a slippery slope and we need to make sure this kind of things are openly debated, I, for one, want no part of Brooks' "humanity."

Far Horizon, Melbourne,

I hope the Evil Doers don't learn to put candles in their rooms at night! ;)

nihil matters, denver, co

When the bad guys, whoever they might be depending on one's point of view, use these advanced robotics systems to commit aggressive acts such as using robotic moths to spread disease, or perhaps using the durable, swim capable robot to plant explosives in otherwise hard to reach places, these devices may not seem like such a great defensive system after all.

SuezanneC Baskerville, Chicago, Illinois

This is the stuff that truly frightens me. Partly because of what John Corry saidabout black projects. This is only the stuff we're hearing about. It makes me sad and angry to know that our tax dollars are going to this sort of research in the name of defense while people are living on the streets and we continually take money away from human service programs, i.e. Medicare, Housing Subsidies, Social Security, Welfare, etc.

Sarah, Minneapolis, USA

"At some point in the not too distant future, a moth will take flight in the hills of northern Pakistan, and flap towards a suspected terrorist training camp."

Good thing we just told them and they won't be expecting it in the least.

Candice, New Haven, USA

The project you won't hear about is the one where they are growing a human fetus around a chip. Think about that one and tell me no one else is thinking about it.

Food Chain, America,

Brooks is a robotics genius. I'll be laughing out loud when I hear about the first terrorist training camp or HQ we find and wipe out using this method. In case some of you missed it, a remotely piloted vehicle took out some top AQ operatives in Yemen not long ago. It's not too absurd to imagine releasing 1000's of these little robo-warriors in the Pakistan border region. Too bad they are so small. We could take a page from the enemy's book and put little explosive belts on them (haha).

Wotan, Ealsey, SC, USA

Yes the CIA does secret research but on the other hand, they are probably somewhat eager to publicize what they view as successes. After all, they have to justify their budget, too.

In addition, betraying part of your hand can be an effective strategy. Making one's enemy look twice at every creature that flutters by or crawls along could prove very intimidating. Talk about demoralizing...

It's downright creepy, too.

Davis Bacon, East Bay,

I think it's well worth remembering that this is only the public stuff they're letting you see, and that you and the scientists working on the moths will know nothing of the black (secret) projects that will have duplicated this long ago and now be on much more advanced stuff. I cannot believe that in projects hidden away from public accountability and ethics they are not performing or intending to perform similar experiments with humans. Sounds ridiculous eh? Everyone's accountable, right? Nope. Not in black projects. So much more is possible when you have no boundaries, a "military advantage" outlook and unlimited funds. Certain whistleblowers have already said in relation to other technologies that whatever you can imagine, the black project world has it already, and I see no reason not to suspect that applies here too. There are already publicly acknowledged "super soldier" programs in the US military that have enhancements to speed, strength, stamina and intelligence in mind.

John Corry, London, UK

"'Red Owl', which can determine the direction from which enemy fire originates." Yeah, it can determine the direction from which some kind of fire origininates, but don't be too quick to fire on that position - it might turn out to be "friendly" fire. Ouch!

Vick Fisher, Arlington, Virginia, USA

Stock Tip: Insecticides. BUY BUY BUY!

XReply, McBain, Ohio,

Is it April 1ST already ?

Platino, Glasgow, Scotland

Well? Which is it? Insurgents or terrorists? And by terrorists I mean at home, where I should be worried? I haven't seen any lately, but I guess I'll keep being afraid.

steve, chicago,

Hmm.. I'm not that impressed. Now if they had developed radio controlled seagulls or something, they could actually bomb the terrorists after they had found them. Or at least marked the car they were driving about in.

Finset Maop, West Malling, UK

A Electric fly zapper (Lantern , or Grid type) as you see used in your local butchers/bakers is an effective and inexpensive counter-measure to this 'idiotic' idea!!

Simon James, Luton,

I wonder what will be the effects of some of this new technology getting in the hands of unfriendly agents, be they rogue states or terrorists. I also wonder what happens as the military becomes more and more automated military power becomes concentrated in fewer and fewer hands. How do we keep this power from getting corrupted and turning on us?

Ed Yalow, Baltimore, MD

We shouldn't be messing about like this with living things. Just because we can doesn't mean that we should. We should aim for higher standards of behaviour than this.

S, Manchester,

I'm now wondering just precisely how much of our U.S. Federal tax dollars have been invested into researching and developing this one- In my (layman's) opinion, it seems that we are now just as likely to aquire some close-up photo footage of the digestive processes of any number of the world's thousands of various species of insectivorous birds, reptiles, flying mammals and amphibians which inhabit regions of the other continents of this planet as we are to gain any information about the plans and activities of foreign terrorists. I wonder what else is in our military's reconnaisance arsenal in our worldwide crusade against terror and I do hope that our government's war on terror does not depend solely on this ingenious contraption- This one is about as reasuring about the security of our homeland as the "duct tape" plan of 2005 was-

Scott Benowitz, Rye, New York, U.S.A.

"Yes, but will it still chew holes in your best suit?"

Only if you don't pay your dry cleaner's bill on time!

Andrew, Pine,

This is only going to lead to another arms race, where the Russians develop cyborg bats to eat our cyborg moths.

Before we know it there'll be cyborg gorillas on the front lines!

N/A, UK,

Great- millions of dollars of reasearch and technology that can be countered with a $4.00 box of moth balls.

Bob, Norton, CT

Infact it throws light on an emerging science of biomimetics.Biomimetics is the practice of reverse engineering concepts and ideas from nature and implementing them in fields of design and engineering.Certain areans like the space where everything is unpredictable, biomimetic robots or devices can be made or trained, just as how any biological organism responds to an unfamiliar environment.This field of biomimetics is a hot spot for future enthusiasts.

Jarvie John Samuel, Chennai, India

It still makes me wince that the press calls the people who are defending their home from invaders that attacked without provocation, "insurgents". Ask yourself what you'd do if someone invaded England on a thinly-veiled pack of lies and against a vote held by the United Nations.

Mike, Wolverhampton, West Mids

Robo-moth sounds like the perfect caper for angry former wives: shock and awe slicing and dicing of the ex's wardrobe. Resistance is futile!

Drew, London,

So, will it only fly into an _electric_ light? ;-)

Chuck, Doylestown, PA

Let's tell the whole world our plans, might as well send a note to the terrorists telling them about this. The media needs to quit reporting all of our dang plans.

bcerge, Jacksonville FL, US

Hmmm, let's see..."Death to all lepidopteran aggressors".....somehow that last bit might just work and slow them down in the translation alone

steveh, Oxford, England

Isn't this the very thing that James Cameron produced the terminator films for - to show what happens when cyborg technology becomes too clever? I can see that it would be a very usefull tool and would reduce the number of lives put at risk in war zones, but it is all just a little bit scary.

Trudy , Cornwall,

Yes, but will it still chew holes in your best suit?

Andrew, Manchester,

This could be excellent technology to spy on terrorists in the mountains. However, it could potentially be a threat to privacy laws, if misused. Imagine using a cyborg moth which can be flown inside buckingham palace to spy on your Royal family?

Stanzler, Texas, US