drummerklg Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 (edited) Cockroach hooked up to a Microsoft Kinect video game console. The next time you're about to stomp a cockroach, you might want to think twice. A team of scientists from North Carolina State University has developed technology that may one day enable the insect to save lives. Using video game technology, researchers have figured out how to put the roaches on autopilot, directing them along a pre-designed path. They hope that one day, the technology could be used to send the bugs into areas that are unsafe for humans to enter, such as collapsed buildings or other disaster areas. And by fitting the roaches with microphones and speakers, rescuers could detect the voices of individuals trapped in buildings, researchers said. "We may even be able to attach small speakers, which would allow rescuers to communicate with anyone who is trapped," said co-author Alper Bozkurt, in a statement. The team of researchers had previously developed technology that allowed users to steer the roaches remotely, but ran into problems because the people operating the controls made mistakes while piloting the insects. "We used joysticks, like the kind you fly remote airplanes with," Bozkurt told ABC News. "But some of our insects didn't respond well to our commands." This new step in their research allows the team to create pre-planned paths for the insects to follow. The researchers used Microsoft's motion-sensing Kinect system to plug in a plotted path for the roach and track its progress. The controls are harnessed to the roaches' bodies, connecting to their antennae and sensory appendages. The researchers use the wires attached to the sensory appendages, or cerci, to spur the roach into motion, while wires attached to the antennae send small electrical impulses that steer the roach in a certain direction, according to the report. "We want to build on this program, incorporating mapping and radio frequency techniques that will allow us to use a small group of cockroaches to explore and map disaster sites," Bozkurt said in the statement. "The autopilot program would control the roaches, sending them on the most efficient routes to provide rescuers with a comprehensive view of the situation." In their experiments, Bozkurt either physically or digitally sketches a path for the roaches, ABC News reported. The Kinect system detects where the cockroach is relative to the path, and can send a signal that is transmitted to a circuit on the roach's back if it veers off track. Bozkurt also said that the Kinect software brings other advantages, like being able to control the roaches in the dark, according to Slate. Although the Kinect would not be able to see through rubble and debris in a collapsed building, Bozkurt told ABC News that a colleague of his is creating a different way to visualize the environment, using radio waves to locate the cockroaches. You will be able to talk to cockroaches, pretty cool, NOT! There is not a thing is this world I hate more than cockroaches, why are they called cockroaches anyway? LOL, COCK-ROACH! HAHA! If I see a cockroach, the last thing I'm going to do is engage in a conversation, I'm stomping on that son of a gun, and who is to say they won't use this to spy on people? All thanks to the kinect, way to go MICRO$OFT. Those little bastards, climbing up walls, creeping up on you from behind, they can survive nukes, you know that? AND THEY FREAKING FLY!! Edited June 30, 2013 by drummerklg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanilla Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 (edited) well, atleast they found a use for that piece of shit Edited June 30, 2013 by shawnbenham 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tofu341 Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 Interesting.. Thanks for posting this! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zorry777 Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 okay o.O Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xVolloxx Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 (edited) WOW 0_0 I'm sure they could spend they're time on something useful . Edited June 30, 2013 by TheBolloxx 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dead Weight Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 You never know, this may be a new Kinect game coming out in 2014 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WolfyRaiden Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 Okay......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gigabehemoth Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 Our soldiers will be replaced by bio cockroaches at the end of 2014. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 Srsly.. dont mess with cockroaches!! they will crawl into our brains when we sleep and control our brains!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azaan60 Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 Wow... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellowwindow7 Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 mind blowing! last time i checked the kinect works well with dancing games, i am surprised now that the kinect is also worked on cockroaches, microsoft might get inspired by this and make a kinect game called cockroach pet and friend Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain_Cutscene Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 Why not just build a tiny robot rather than use something like this?Scientists....go home....you are drunk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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