昆蟲的感覺(jué)器官和仿生學(xué)(1)(文件)
【正文】 es. 101 ? After implanting radioequipped electrodes into the adult beetles’ brains and wing muscles, the researchers used a laptop to wirelessly activate the implants, which delivered pulses of electricity. Exciting the beetles’ brains allowed the team to start or stop flight on mand. ? Exactly why this worked so well remains unclear, since the electrodes affected a sizeable and unspecified brain region. “We must have been stimulating some part of the motor area,” VandenBrooks suggested. To change the direction of flight, the researchers excited either the left or the right wing muscles. 102 ? Before the Berkeley study, most advances in insect cyb research happened at Cornell University’s Laboratory for Intelligent Machine Systems, where some researchers focus on moths — specifically, hawkmoths(天蛾 ), which breed quickly and can carry large payloads during flight. Some Cornell researchers have experimented with implanting electrodes during early stages of metamorphosis, so the adult hawkmoths emerge as cybs. These implants allowed for some preliminary control of wing movements and established the surgical techniques later used and modified by others, including the Berkeley team. 103 ? Although DARPA hopes insectmachine hybrids will someday facilitate the military, a fleet of stealthy insect spies won’t be breaking out of the lab any time soon. ―It’s the whole idea of the fly on the wall technology,‖ said Tim Reissman, a mechanical engineer at Cornell. ―Currently, our fly is this relatively huge insect,‖ he added, emphasizing the need for both smaller insects and lighter devices before the cybs will be of any help to the armed forces. VandenBrooks, coauthor of the Berkeley study, agreed: ―Some people definitely blow it out of proportion. We’re not even close to having any applications of that kind.‖ 104 ?Perhaps the greatest hurdle to a practical military application of bionic bugs is the issue of power. Any cyb electronics will require a power source, which usually means heavy batteries that weigh down even large insects like flower beetles and hawkmoths. Imagine a giant bug the size of your hand, lugging a backpack of batteries and microchips, trying to discreetly carry out its reconnaissance. Not exactly inconspicuous . But some researchers are determined to resolve the issues of power and size. ?reconnaissance [美 ][r??kɑn?s?ns, z?ns] . ? inconspicuous [美 ][??nk?n?sp?kju?s] 105 ? With the guidance of lab director Ephrahim Garcia, a mechanical and aerospace engineer, Reissman and others at Cornell have tried to create electronic devices powered by the moths’ own movements — an attempt to circumvent the dependency on cumbersome batteries. ? To acplish this, they use piezoelectric material, which turns motion ―into a voltage that can be utilized to power other things,‖ Garcia explained. Attaching a piezoelectric device to a moth turns the vibrations of its body during flight into a power source. The ultimate goal is functional batteryfree sensors, such as a tiny camera or ―a simple GPS monitor — the world’s smallest,‖ Garcia said. 106 ? Reissman is optimistic about their success. His colleagues are working to build miniature mechanical systems patible with the low voltages harvested from a moth’s movements. According to Reissman, their devices are almost efficient enough for takeoff. ? Not everyone thinks it’s feasible to extract sufficient energy from insect movement to power any mechanical instruments of practical use. ―I’m skeptical,‖ said Reid Harrison, a University of Utah bioengineer who builds electronic backpacks for locusts in order to study how their nervous systems help them escape predators. ―These animals only generate so much mechanical force. Even using piezoelectric materia
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