Tiny Robotic Cameras Give First-Person View of Insects

Many people throughout generations have been curious about the viewpoints of insects and small organisms, which are often portrayed in movies.

However, this has never been able to be demonstrated in real-life, up until now. 

Researchers at the University of Washington have created a wireless steerable camera that is capable of being placed on the back of an insect, bringing that viewpoint to the world.

The camera on the back of the insect can stream video to a smartphone at 1 to 5 frames per second.

“We have created a low-power, low-weight, wireless camera system that can capture a first-person view of what’s happening from an actual live insect or create vision for small robots” said Golakota.

As a result, prior to our work, wireless vision has not been possible for small robots or “We added a small accelerometer to our system to be able to detect when the beetle moves.

Then it only captures images during that time. With the accelerometer, we could record for six hours or more, depending on the beetle’s activity level” Iyer said.

According to the researchers, this technology could be applied in the areas of biology and exploration, and they hope for future versions to be solar-powered.

However, the team does recognize certain privacy concerns could arise due to technology.