Researchers from the School of Computer Science and Engineering, the Departments of Electrical Engineering and Engineering at the University of Washington in Seattle have developed a conceptual design for a 248 mg video camera (plus a 0.5 g battery) that is mounted on the back of a beetle or microrobot.
Black and white video at 1-5 fps with a resolution of up to 160×120 px is transmitted via Bluetooth over a distance of up to 120 meters. The lens rotates 60°. Control is via a smartphone.
Previously, scientists conducted experiments on remote control of beetles (2009), moths (2008) and cockroaches (2012) by stimulating the brain with electrodes, so this is a very promising related development. In fact, a camera module has now been made for radio-controlled insects.
Radio control module for cockroaches. Photo: University of North Carolina, 2012
Remote control of cockroaches is not just a scientific development. DIY kits for performing medical operations and electronics for installation on cockroaches are already available for sale.
DIY Cockroach Mount Kit
Cockroach surgery at home
There are also good results in experiments on implanting a cell with biofuel to power electronics into living insects (see the 2012 scientific paper ), that is, all the elements of the puzzle for creating a spy bug or a cyborg cockroach with remote control come together.
However, the new video camera is not powered by a biocell, but by a 0.5-gram battery with 10 mA. This is enough for 6 hours of operation when installed on an ordinary black beetle. Of course, you can make a homemade mobile robot, but so far, human-developed models cannot compare in maneuverability and power with real insects, whose design has been honed over millions of years of evolution.
Options for a miniature wireless video camera for a black beetle and a mobile robot
The researchers had to start developing a new video camera from scratch, because no existing solutions are suitable. Even the smallest ingestible video cameras that film inside the human body weigh more than 1 gram with batteries, which is too much for a bug or cockroach.
Focusing on small size and efficiency, they started with a commercially available ultra-small CMOS sensor that’s 2.3 mm wide and weighs 6.7 mg. They also selected a Bluetooth 5.0 chip (3 mm wide, 6.8 mg) and began experimenting with how to connect the two with a minimum of intermediate hardware to broadcast the camera signal.
Field testing the bug with a video camera
The working camera also required a lens (20 mg) and an antenna, a 5 mm long wire. An accelerometer was included on the board so that the insect’s movement could be used to trigger the camera, minimizing redundant footage from a dormant bug or a stationary robot charging.
The final piece of the design is a mechanically controlled “head,” weighing 35 mg and bringing the wireless camera’s weight to 84 mg. This is a ready-made 60-degree actuator that colleagues at the University of Washington developed for their miniature flying robots. Unfortunately, the piezoelectric actuator requires a 96-mg step-up converter. That’s a huge expense, but the researchers took the step because they can’t actually steer the bug—and are forced to turn the camera when necessary.
The research paper “Wireless Controlled Vision for Living and Robotic Insects” by Vikram Iyer, Ali Najafi, Johannes James, Sawyer Fuller, and Shyamnath Gollakota from the University of Washington was published on July 15, 2020, in the journal Science Robotics (doi: 10.1126/scirobotics.abb0839).
To place such a video camera on a bee or a fly, additional optimization is needed, because the same bumblebee lifts no more than 100-200 mg of payload. The main limitation here is the power supply system, so it is advisable to use solar cells on a bumblebee.
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