It sounds like science fiction, but instead, it is computer science on a very small scale.
Researchers at the University of Washington announced an Internet of Things breakthrough which you might consider the Living IoT.
They have successfully outfitted bumblebees with tiny digital backpacks that record data.
And yes, this is an actual photo of a bee wearing the backpack (click to expand the photo if you'd like).
The IoT device, which you can think of as a digital backpack, contains a series of small sensors. They can monitor and record temperature, humidity, light intensity, and location, to compile information on an entire farm.
“Drones can fly for maybe 10 or 20 minutes before they need to charge again, whereas our bees can collect data for hours,” said senior author Shyam Gollakota, an associate professor in the UW’s Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering. “We showed for the first time that it’s possible to actually do all this computation and sensing using insects in lieu of drones.”
Watch the video for yourself. And imagine the possibilities:
“We decided to use bumblebees because they’re large enough to carry a tiny battery that can power our system, and they return to a hive every night where we could wirelessly recharge the batteries,” said co-author Vikram Iyer, a doctoral student in the UW Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering.
The data they collect is also transmitted upon return to the hive. So while the bumblebees rest, the IoT backpack keeps on working.
How much does one of these sensors weigh? About the same as 6-7 grains of uncooked rice. And they can be programmed.
Research co-author Sawyer Fuller, an assistant professor in the UW Department of Mechanical Engineering, says, "... if you want to know what’s happening in a particular area, you could also program the backpack to say: ‘Hey bees, if you visit this location, take a temperature reading.'"
The image below is the actual IoT bee backpack:
Attaching an IoT device to bumblebees
How do researchers attach an IoT backpack to a bumblebee? It turns out there are four (easy?) steps:
- Put the bumblebee into the freezer
- Bumblee responds to cold by moving slowly
- Attach IoT device
- Bumblebee warms up, flies full speed ahead, IoT device captures data
And when the team is finished with the experiment, the team removes the backpack through a similar process.
Researchers say this could create incredible data for agriculture, and teach us more about bees than we've ever known.
[RELATED: IoT Breakthrough: Clothing That Records Data Without Electronics]
[RESOURCE: Securing the IoT and emerging threats, part of 2019 regional SecureWorld cybersecurity conferences]
Image credits: Mark Stone/University of Washington
