back to article US boffins unleash piezoelectric insect cyborg

Scientists from the University of Michigan's College of Engineering have developed a prototype insect cyborg with an eye to one day using electricity-generating six-legged critters to venture forth into potentially hazardous environments. The piezoelectric beetle. Pic: The University of Michigan College of Engineering …

COMMENTS

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  1. Matt 116
    Joke

    No thats no good. Its never going to generate enough to power a laser beam.

    1. Lester Haines (Written by Reg staff) Gold badge

      Re:

      Yeah, but ten thousand piezoelectric cyborg beetles strapped to the back of a shark...

    2. GumboKing
      Alert

      Perhaps not on a beetle, but scaled up to shark proportions it just might be the power supply we are all looking for.

    3. sandman

      Patience, they're building up to the tail-powered laser shark version...

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Maybe we will get "The Green Brain" instead of robot overlords.

  3. Kernel

    So, how many of these tethered bugs will be required to power a medium sized town?

    1. bradbox

      If it's a large town, maybe they'll attach the generators to pigeons.

  4. Miek

    Aww, poor little mite

    -- cue extended use of the Scientist Icon

  5. Entropiated
    Joke

    Ah... to be a fly on the wall at the University of Michigan College Engineering department!

    1. Michael Wojcik Silver badge

      College Engineering

      Er... that's the University of Michigan's College of Engineering (which in turn contains various departments). The "College Engineering department" is presumably where you'd be tenured if you specialized in creating colleges. And we have not yet succeeded in miniaturizing colleges to the point where they can be attached to beetles (or conversely, sufficiently enlarging beetles).

      Though I understand U of Phoenix is working on it.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    At the risk of anthropomorphism

    Isn't it a bit mean on the bugs?

    1. Toastan Buttar
      Linux

      Tethered flight?

      I had images of a beetle flying round the room like a falcon on a leash.

  7. Mystic Megabyte
    Trollface

    Why bother with bugs when you could just send Lewis Page into the reactor core.

    Apparently, he is immune to the effects of radiation.

  8. bugalugs

    Every advance in military hardware soon engenders a counter

    In this case just a can of bug spray or a fly-swatter...

  9. James Micallef Silver badge
    Terminator

    Great!

    We've taken robots and insects, the top 2 candidates in "species most likely to outlast and/or overturn t.h human race" , and we've combined them together.

    Not a smart move

  10. Michael Wojcik Silver badge

    Expect it?

    No one expects the exploding assassin wasp cyborg inquisition!

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