"The roach, from the perspective of robotics, is a loaded thing," said Hertz. "This is a little bit of a joke on that. Instead of taking the abstraction of a roach, it's using the roach in the system."
The mobile robot system consists of a three-wheeled electronic vehicle and an eight-centimeter-long Giant Madagascan Hissing Cockroach.
The insect drives the vehicle from atop a modified trackball, where it is held in place by a device attached to its back with a piece of Velco.
Electronics within the trackball engage motors that turn the vehicle's wheels. When the roach scurries to the left, the vehicle moves left; when the roach runs right, the vehicle turns right.
A semicircle of distance sensors with light-emitting diodes face the roach atop its trackball seat.
If the vehicle gets too close to a wall, a sensor illuminates a diode, which shines in the cockroach's face. When all goes well, the light startles the roach, which scampers away from the light and steers the vehicle out of collision's way.
But because roaches quickly adapt to their environment, the light doesn't always work.
"Sometimes the cockroach will drive it into the wall," said Hertz.
The proto-cyborg isn't perfect, but neither are computerized forms of artificial intelligence, said Hertz. While those systems can solve sophisticated mathematical problems, he said, they are not very good at addressing common-sense tasks, such as crossing a street.
Exploring that problem from a biological standpoint makes sense to Hertz.
"Artificial intelligence doesn't necessarily involve complicated computer algorithms, but could involve this kind of hybridization," said Mark Allen, a professor of visual arts at Pomona College in Claremont, California, and the executive director of the Machine Project art gallery in Los Angeles.
Hertz said he will be looking at ways to improve the cockroach's performance by creating an immersive environment that encourages the insect to respond consistently to stimuli.
Name: Giant Madagascan Hissing Cockroach (
Gromphadorhina portentosa)
Primary Classification: Blattaria (Cockroaches)
Location: Madagascar
Habitat: Underbrush of forest floors.
Diet: Decaying plant and animal matter.
Size: Up to 4 inches in length and 0.85 oz in weight.
Description: Dark brown in color; orange markings on abdomen; shiny back; no wings or wing pads; males have two humps at front of body.
Cool Facts: It "hisses" by forcing air out of tiny breathing holes called spiracles that run along the sides of its body; it does this when threatened or to establish dominance. It is almost identical to fossil cockroaches that lived 300 million years ago.
Conservation Status: Common
