Turtles are one of the most popular herps to domesticate and keep as pets. Imagine having a turtle as a pet; how awesome, right? Now, imagine having a turtle as a pet and having the ability to control the voluntary movement of your very own pet! Sounds impossible, correct? Wrong! On April 24, 2013, a writer, John Roach, for Future Tech that is affiliated with NBC News wrote an article titled "Turtle becomes 'biobot' with scheme that controls voluntary behavior".
Without thinking, turtles avoid any obstacle that comes into their path by simply changing the course of their direction. Take note that similar experiments have been conducted on other animals, such as cockroaches and rats, but in an invasive manner via "direct stimulation of the brain or muscles". What's so fascinating about this procedure is that it induces "an appropriate voluntary instinctive behavior", said researchers from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology.
Now, I bet you all are wondering how this type of voluntary control is achieved. It's surprisingly simple! Attach an object, here, a half-cylinder 0.210m in length and 0.08m in height, to the top of a turtle's carapace; this half-cylinder is controlled remotely to turn a particular direction just as a toy car performs. Once attached to the shell, just move the object into the turtle's field of vision using the remote, and let the turtle do the rest.
Check out this great video to see how it works!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T90HgEb2woA&feature=player_embeddedAn electrical engineer at NC State University, Alper Bozkurt, recommended that researchers take caution when using the bulky object to control the voluntary behavior of the turtles. One must realize that unlike invertebrates, turtles possess pain receptors. Agreeing with Bozkurt, much more work is needed in order to put such a device on the market. The object should be revised to best suit the animal to which it is attached and take into consideration its pain level. If successful, this idea could lead to a new revolution--animals carrying out simple, every-day tasks for humans. Does this sound humane to you? Ponder about that. Is this device bringing back the idea of slavery? Many questions are being raised, but research is still continuing to better the device.
Link to story: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/futureoftech/turtle-becomes-biobot-scheme-controls-voluntary-behavior-6C9567490
1 comment:
What is the evidence that invertebrates don't feel pain? Or is it that we just don't think their pain is important? What are the implications for turtle populations if this technology was made available to the public?
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