SWARM Biotactics
Coupling electronics to insects and calling it robotics. Does it work?
In a laboratory in Berlin, a team is transforming insects into living robots.
The German startup is developing electronic micro-backpacks that can convert Madagascar hissing cockroaches into mobile recognition units, capable of carry camerasmicrophones and Doppler radar in confined or dangerous environments.
According to the startup’s executive director, Stefan Wilhelmthe choice of insect was deliberate. The Madagascar hissing cockroach is big enough for transporting small loads, it resists extreme conditions and is widely studied in biology laboratories.
“Millions of years of evolution produced an insect very resistantvery mobile and very capable,” said Wilhelm. “For what we want to do, it’s actually a perfect, perfect animal.”
SWARM’s biology, electronics and robotics system weighs up to 15 grams. Engineers are working to reduce this value to 10 gramsin order to reduce the effort imposed on the insect.
Each unit can accommodate sensors such as optical cameras or radar modules, transforming the cockroach into a discreet recognition device.
According to Wilhelm, cockroaches can survive exposure to chemicalsheat and radiation — factors that make them suitable for environments that conventional robots or humans cannot safely enter.
“It has a low subscription, It is super efficient from an energy point of view. It is almost undetectable… and can scale almost unlimitedly”, he stated.
According to TechSpoto, SWARM has now also begun evaluating other potential species, including grasshoppers and other orthopterafor future development.
Wilhelm says the goal is to use algorithms to coordinate dozens, or potentially hundreds, of bio-hybrid insects as a group. “With the algorithm we created, you can drive a whole swarm of insects to a target. And this could be 10, or also, for example, one hundred.”
Wilhelm points out that the process is painless and that insect welfare is critical to the reliability of the system: need to have a good life to carry out their missions well.
SWARM Biotatics emerged during a period of growing concern about European security, as Germany and its NATO allies strengthen defense initiatives in response to the war in Ukraine.
Wilhelm stated that these cockroach-based systems offer a unique way of collecting information, as they can reach places that other technologies cannot access.
The startup is collaborating with the Bundeswehr, the German armed forces, to test the performance of swarms of cockroaches in field operations. The current focus is on reconnaissance, not any offensive capabilities.
