研究铺在半机械蛾“生物机器人”的方法

For Immediate Release

Dr. Alper Bozkurt alper.bozkurt@ncsu.edu 919.515.7349

北卡罗来纳州立大学的研究人员开发了电子操纵飞蛾飞行肌肉的方法，并监测飞蛾用于控制这些肌肉的电信号。这项工作为远程控制的飞蛾或“生物机构”的发展打开了大门，以用于应急响应。

北卡罗来纳州州立和合作社的电气和计算机工程助理教授Alper Bozkurt博士说：“从大局中，我们想知道我们是否可以控制用于搜索和救援操作等应用的运动。”作品的作者。“这个想法是将传感器连接到飞蛾上，以建立一个灵活的空中传感器网络，该网络可以在灾难后识别幸存者或公共卫生危害。”

The paper presents a technique Bozkurt developed for attaching electrodes to a moth during its pupal stage, when the caterpillar is in a cocoon undergoing metamorphosis into its winged adult stage. This aspect of the work was done in conjunction with Dr. Amit Lal of Cornell University.

But the new findings in the paper involve methods developed by Bozkurt’s research team for improving our understanding of precisely how a moth coordinates its muscles during flight.

通过将电极连接到负责飞蛾飞行的肌肉组，Bozkurt的团队能够监视肌电图信号 - 飞机在飞行过程中使用的蛾子来告诉那些肌肉该怎么做。

斜纹夜蛾是连接到一个wireless platform that collects the electromyographic data as the moth moves its wings. To give the moth freedom to turn left and right, the entire platform levitates, suspended in mid-air by electromagnets. A short video describing the work is available athttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jR325RHPK8o.

“By watching how the moth uses its wings to steer while in flight, and matching those movements with their corresponding electromyographic signals, we’re getting a much better understanding of how moths maneuver through the air,” Bozkurt says.

“We’re optimistic that this information will help us develop technologies to remotely control the movements of moths in flight,” Bozkurt says. “That’s essential to the overarching goal of creating biobots that can be part of a cyberphysical sensor network.”

但是Bozkurt强调，要使Moth Biobot成为可行的工具，还有很多工作要做。

“We now have a platform for collecting data about flight coordination,” Bozkurt says. “Next steps include developing an automated system to explore and fine-tune parameters for controlling moth flight, further miniaturizing the technology, and testing the technology in free-flying moths.”

The paper, “昆虫飞行行为监测的早期变质插入技术,” is published online in theJournal of Visualized Experiments(乔夫).乔夫publications have two parts, a written component and a video describing the work.

The paper was co-authored by Alexander Verderber and Michael McKnight, Ph.D. students in Bozkurt’s lab at NC State. The research was supported by the National Science Foundation, under grant CNS-1239243. The researchers also used transmitters and receivers developed by Triangle Biosystems International and thank them for their contribution to the work.

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Note to Editors:The study abstract follows.

“Early Metamorphic Insertion Technology for Insect Flight Behavior Monitoring”

Authors：北卡罗来纳州立大学的亚历山大·弗德伯（Alexander Verderber），迈克尔·麦克奈特（Michael McKnight）和阿尔珀·博兹库特（Alper Bozkurt）

Published: online July 18, 2014 in theJournal of Visualized Experiments

Abstract:早期变形插入技术（EMIT）是一种在其变质过程中整合昆虫上的微生物神经肌肉记录和驱动平台的新方法。在这里，由于变质组织的重塑，植入物被融合在神经肌肉系统的结构和功能中。植入物与昆虫一起出现，在昆虫中，在pupal发育过程中电子周围的组织的发展导致生物电机和生物力学增强的组织界面。这种相对可靠和稳定的界面将对许多研究人员探索昆虫运动的神经基础是有益的，并减轻了成人阶段插入期间引起的创伤作用。在本文中，我们将电极植入间接飞行肌肉Manduca sexta. Located in the dorsal-thorax, these main flight powering dorsoventral and dorsolongitudinal muscles actuate the wings and supply the mechanical power for up and down strokes. Relative contraction of these two muscle groups has been under investigation to explore how yaw maneuver is neurophysiologically coordinated. To characterize the flight dynamics, insects are often tethered with wires and their flights are recorded with digital cameras. We also developed a novel way to tetherManduca sextaon a magnetically levitating frame where the insect is connected to a commercially available wireless neural amplifier. This set up can be used to limit the degree of freedom to yawing “only” while transmitting the related electromyography signals from dorsoventral and dorsolongitudinal muscle groups.