Beijing Scientists Strap 74mg Brain on Bees, Direct Aerial Recon Missions
Cyborg bee brain controller from Beijing—just 74 milligrams—lets scientists pilot insects for urban recon, sparking searches like “Can you control a bee?” and “First cyborg insect experiment.” Worker bees, hauling 80% of their body mass, now wear circuit backpacks wired to their brains. “Insect-based robots inherit the superior mobility, camouflage capabilities, and environmental adaptability of their biological hosts,” says Professor Zhao Jieliang.
Unlike synthetic drones, these bees lug polymer-film circuits through disaster zones, their bellies sometimes ignoring human commands. Searchers ask, “How do cyborg bees work?” and “Are insect robots real?” Picture a covert bee with a backpack at a crime scene, hesitating only because its legs won’t play along. “In future research, precision and repeatability of insect behaviour control will be enhanced,” promise the researchers, as if plotting a future where bees moonlight as disaster relief agents.
In testing, Beijing’s cyborg bees followed human steering 90% of the time—unless their legs or bellies staged a tiny, silent strike against technological progress.
