Singapore's Remote-Controlled Cyborg Insects

In the future, we may have remote-controlled insects to reach places humans cannot. At least that's what Dr. Hirotaka Sato, an aerospace engineer from Singapore, is hoping.

Motherboard went to Dr. Sato's lab in Singapore to take one of his cyborg beetles for a test flight.

[C-Handle]

Amazon can't wait to use this on its warehouse workers.

[MrWhatdafuBOOM]

This is both impressive and terrifying. Human progress in a nutshell.

[davybigfly]

“As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect.”

[TomTomTomTom]

For everyone worried about them doing this with humans, they already did. Your holding your remote control right now

[abelalfaro]

"We use a wii remote " is probably the scarier aspect of all this

[maddhouse]

"It struggles but it still obeys"
Governments worldwide have been saying this about their people for hundreds of years

[aliciarubio]

I can't begin to imagine how painful this is for the little creature.

[roodie]

From the moment I understood the weakness of my flesh, it disgusted me.

[danysaschaja]

Me thinking "how can this be more unethical?"
Student: We use a Wii control LOL

[boarbot]

The way he talked about it fighting but still obeying was haunting.

[manchippe]

Theoretically i think this could be used to allow people paralyzed due to nerve damage to move

[keiko]

i feel so bad for that beetle, even if it's not a complex creature like us.. I raise monarch butterflies, and they are amazing animals that can learn and all behave differently.

[nara]

guy: "can i try again?"
beetle: "no pls"

[bdasaw]

"It struggles but it still obeys"
Somebody get this man on some kinda watchlist

[andsomedayyoufeedonatreefr]

"Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could that they didn't stop to think if they should"

[DavidDacaro]

Can't wait to see the youtube video that the Beetle posts about it's experience being kidnapped and turned, temporarily, into a robot.

[RemGnova]

The implications of this are terrifying

[fuzzy-]

20years later : controlling people wirelessly using radio frequency

[glasgowmcglasgowfacevotegr]

Extremely impressive and very sad for the insects - I really do hope insects are so basic that they aren’t really conscious. But v creepy.

[xenospawn]

I love how the very last statement was “yep we’re going to use it to hunt people….also use it to locate people peacefully (obvious sarcasm).”😂