Garnet Hertz ‘s “Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine” was a sensation at Siggraph’s fashion show.

This cockroach-controlled mobile robot is a mechanical system that amplifies and tranlates the bodily movement and intelligence of a giant Madagascan cockroach into the locomotion of a machine. The cockroach is at the control center (on top of the pingpong ball). As the insect moves on the ball, it controls the movement of the robot. When sensors detect an immobile object ahead, a bright light flashes on the cockroach and as it scuttles away from the light, the robot moves away from the wall.

The idea behind this hybrid biorobotic system is to illustrate that the simple intelligence of a cockroach can provide a novel control center for a mobile robot.

Among the artist’s previous experiment was a living cockroach equipped with a miniature videocameras on backpack to transmit wireless video to TV sets (see video) and a Frog with Implanted Webserver.

From Btang Phlog.
Related entry: Wireless and Weird.