Bozkurt, Lobaton and Sichitiu Receive NSF Award for Research in CINEMa

Cyborg Insect Networks for Exploration and Mapping

Alper Bozkurt, Edgar Lobaton and Mihail Sichitiu have been awarded $880,000 by the National Science Foundation Cyber-Physical Systems Program for their research on "CPS: Synergy: Collaborative Research: Cyborg Insect Networks for Exploration and Mapping (CINEMa)". The total award amount is $1,000,000 as an additional award of $120,000 was granted to Ty Hedrick at UNC-Chapel Hill Biology Department as a part of this research effort. The award will run from October 1st, 2012 to September 30th, 2015.

Research Abstract

Autonomous navigation in unknown and dynamic environments has been a major challenge for synthetic mobile robotic agents. On the other hand, insects can easily solve such complex navigational problems and demonstrate remarkably stable and optimized locomotion skills in almost any environment. This project aims to develop a mobile sensor network where insects are used as mobile biological-robotic (biobotic) nodes. Insects, in fact, build a "natural" sensor network through the use of their biological sensing organs and release of chemical, mechanical and optical cues to communicate the information to the rest of the group. In the scope of this project, a novel cyber-physical communication network will be established among the individual insect in addition to the aforementioned natural one. For this, insects will be equipped with synthetic electronic sensors to sense additional cues, neuromuscular stimulation systems to direct the control of the insect and microcontrollers with radios to establish an RF link between the insects. This novel network will enable operation of insect biobots in complicated and uncertain dynamic environments for applications such as environmental sensing and search-and-rescue operations after natural disasters.

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