It might sound like the stuff of dystopian nightmares or a plot plucked straight out of techno-paranoia series Black Mirror, but cyborg beetles exist, and they’re built right here in Singapore.
Putting the term ‘drone’ to literal use, scientists at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and the University of California (UC) Berkeley jointly developed a drone of the truest sense last year — a remote-controlled living beetle.
Using a tiny electronic device mounted on the backs, scientists manage to enslave the insects through built-in wireless receivers and transmitters.
Such an awesomely futuristic concept attracted the folks from VICE‘s tech offshoot Motherboard, who sent one of their correspondents here to investigate. Watch the short documentary below as he checks out an NTU lab to see a cyborg beetle taking flight, and successfully takes control of it with a Wii remote.
