At DARPA, scientists have been experimenting with electronically modifying beetles so they can actually manipulate their flight. Threading thin wires into the base of the beetles’ optic lobes, they can control the region of the brain at makes the beetles start and stop flying. With another pair of wires in the wing muscles, they can also make the beetle veer to the right to the left by remote control. And scientists working with nanotechnology are not only looking for ways to control insects but to actually recreate them. Thomas Vaneck at Physical Sciences, Incorporated, is currently developing flying robots based on insects.

“Instant Eye is a very small aerial robot about the size of a pie plate. It’s relatively simple and yet Just about any insect you can imagine is being studied by somebody.”

 – Thomas Vaneck, Ph.D. (Aerospace Engineer, Physical Sciences, Inc.) ^[1]