Remote-controlled animal
Encyclopedia
A remote-controlled animal is controlled via a radio link. Electrode
s have to be implanted in the animal's brain and it has to carry a receiver (typically on its back). The electrodes do not move the animal directly, as one would move a robot; instead, they are used to signal its desired direction or action, then stimulate the animal's reward centers if it complies. Because of the surgery required (and the moral issues involved, especially regarding animal welfare
and animal rights
), the method is unlikely to replace conventional animal training methods.
Animals that have been used as candidates for remote control include:
Electrode
An electrode is an electrical conductor used to make contact with a nonmetallic part of a circuit...
s have to be implanted in the animal's brain and it has to carry a receiver (typically on its back). The electrodes do not move the animal directly, as one would move a robot; instead, they are used to signal its desired direction or action, then stimulate the animal's reward centers if it complies. Because of the surgery required (and the moral issues involved, especially regarding animal welfare
Animal welfare
Animal welfare is the physical and psychological well-being of animals.The term animal welfare can also mean human concern for animal welfare or a position in a debate on animal ethics and animal rights...
and animal rights
Animal rights
Animal rights, also known as animal liberation, is the idea that the most basic interests of non-human animals should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings...
), the method is unlikely to replace conventional animal training methods.
Animals that have been used as candidates for remote control include:
- American cockroachAmerican cockroachThe American cockroach , also known as the waterbug, or misidentified as the palmetto bug , is the largest species of common cockroach, and often considered a pest. None of the Periplaneta species are endemic to the Americas; despite the name, P...
(Tokyo University, 1997) - RatRatRats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents of the superfamily Muroidea. "True rats" are members of the genus Rattus, the most important of which to humans are the black rat, Rattus rattus, and the brown rat, Rattus norvegicus...
s (State University of New York, 2002) - Dogfish Shark (Marine Biological LaboratoryMarine Biological LaboratoryThe Marine Biological Laboratory is an international center for research and education in biology, biomedicine and ecology. Founded in 1888, the MBL is the oldest independent marine laboratory in the Americas, taking advantage of a coastal setting in the Cape Cod village of Woods Hole, Massachusetts...
at Woods Hole, Massachusetts, 2005) - Pigeons (Shandong University of Science and Technology, China, 2007)
External links
- http://ai-depot.com/Biology/441.html
- http://www.economist.com/science/displayStory.cfm?story_id=1109541 <---Must have a subscription to view article at this address.