Microbot controls swarm of bacteria, puts all flea circuses to shame

Sylvain Martel, what hast thou sown? The director of the NanoRobotics Laboratory at the École Polytechnique de Montréal this week is presenting his latest microbot at ICRA in Japan, and it's got a pretty crazy trick. The solar panel-equipped device sizes up to about 300 x 300 microns, and using a sensor to detect nearby pH levels, it's been shown as capable of controlling a swarm of 3,000 bacteria using electromagnetic pulses. Sure, Martel suggests there'll be some eventual medical uses for the technology, but we'd be lying if we said the video demonstration didn't give us the willies. See for yourself in the video linked below.

Read - Announcement
Read - Video

[trialanderror614 @ May 17th 2009 4:46PM]

Shit. We're all doomed.

[Schweppes @ May 17th 2009 5:44PM]

We are the BORG. Resistance is futile!
We will add your biological and technological(iPhone & MS surface) distinctiveness to our own.


ALL YOUR BLOGS ARE BELONG TO US!

[rcarm @ May 17th 2009 4:46PM]

I thought the title said "Microsoft" for some reason

[ddub @ May 17th 2009 5:43PM]

same here

[Code.Red @ May 17th 2009 6:24PM]

Me too, what the hell?

[jK @ May 17th 2009 6:25PM]

You mean it didn't?
Let me scroll up and check...
Oh...!

[Game_playa @ May 17th 2009 7:22PM]

wtf? I thought it said Microsoft too until I read your comment. Nice catch ;)

[ED @ May 17th 2009 10:03PM]

Same here, it was scary for a few seconds until I realised the truth.

[Eleazar @ May 17th 2009 10:42PM]

Same here.

It might have something to do with the words "controls" and "shame" that are there too. And maybe somehow swarm.... sworm.... "worm".

Is this what too much engadget does to our brains?

[Daza @ May 18th 2009 5:55AM]

Me too.. =/

[rawrawrawr @ May 18th 2009 8:29AM]

I was expecting blue, red yellow and green bacteria crawling around in the shape of squares.

[atomicmatt @ May 17th 2009 4:50PM]

Swam = Swarm?

[yopladas @ May 17th 2009 4:53PM]

I, for one welcome our new microbot overlords.

[CleverEndeavor @ May 17th 2009 6:19PM]

t'was inventiable

[CJ @ May 17th 2009 8:22PM]

...and directly these invaders arrived, directly they drank and fed, our microscopic allies began to work their overthro- oh wait, never mind.

[yopladas @ May 17th 2009 8:38PM]

Forgive my bad placement of my , .

[RED_ @ May 18th 2009 4:12PM]

Thought it said Microsoft as well. Brainwashed.

[Shinigami @ May 17th 2009 5:00PM]

Can it control viruses?

[404 @ May 17th 2009 6:31PM]

I'd doubt it, those bacteria are flagellated so they can control their movement, viruses generally drift wherever water/air currents take them.

[Noli @ May 17th 2009 7:19PM]

given that viruses are as small vs a bacterium as a bacterium is vs a typical animal cell, or as small as pea is compared to the size of a lorry (for example), I highly doubt it. I doubt it's a targeted end goal of this research imho...

[The WC @ May 17th 2009 5:06PM]

*Movie Theater Voice* "In the year 2018... Skynet has formed an alliance with bacteria..."

[adam.plante @ May 17th 2009 5:25PM]

Don't the ppl at engadget proof read their posts? What the heck is a Swam?

[Wwhat @ May 17th 2009 6:58PM]

What the hell is a 'heck'?

[The WC @ May 17th 2009 7:19PM]

What the hell is a Wwhat?

[Wwhat @ May 17th 2009 7:23PM]

Don't make fun of my stammer bastard

:P

[The WC @ May 17th 2009 7:52PM]

:P

[superhobo @ May 18th 2009 7:32AM]

P:

[lxuke @ May 17th 2009 5:27PM]

IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT!!!

[Ian @ May 17th 2009 8:16PM]

and I feel fine!

[martin @ May 17th 2009 5:48PM]

a step closer for a cure for my cancer.

[Matt @ May 17th 2009 6:02PM]

"We have a cancer cell here, SEND IN ZE BACTERIA!"

[ThreeDee912 @ May 17th 2009 6:00PM]

I love reading videos...

[Eptin @ May 17th 2009 6:06PM]

Dial "M" for Microbot

[DenverBob @ May 17th 2009 6:27PM]

Gives a whole new meaning to a computer bug.

Now, let's get serious for a second. A device like this could have quite a military application, infecting people with bacteria guided by nanobots. Imagine if the nanobot taught bacteria how to avoid antibiotics during a war-induced infestation.

Now before you think I'm nuts, go read "The Singularity is Near," by Ray Kurzweil. He wrote all about the use of nanobots in war.

This both fascinates and scares the bejesits out of me.

[404 @ May 17th 2009 6:37PM]

To be honest, the bacteria could probably do it better themselves anyway. There's no point in trying to avoid antibiotics when you can just engineer them to be resistant in the first place, plus you'd have the problem of getting the 'bot into the victim. Completely ignoring the problem of trying to physically avoid antibiotics when they're saturating the tissue and fluids of the host.

Pathogenic bacteria have evolved a lot of clever mechanisms for the sole purpose of causing disease, I doubt there's much a microbot could show them they either can't do better themselves or they couldn't do without.

[sven vollstag @ May 17th 2009 6:43PM]

...but they arent intelligent...
...giving specifically purposed bots the advantage...

[Wwhat @ May 17th 2009 6:55PM]

Because someone wrote about it you are automatically not nuts? I never knew that, but it explains a lot of the history since bookprint was invented, if that's the general view that is.

Incidentally, viruses use Ph levels to fold their outer shell's molecules to get into cells, so this might theoretically be developed in a viruscatcher like the old sticky fly paper in microformat, and that's a more positive idea than 'lets' use it to kill people, there's such a thing as being TOO typical american you know :)

[granny down east @ May 17th 2009 11:35PM]

I dono about Kurzweil's fiction, but he made a hell of a synthesizer.
:P

[ray k @ May 18th 2009 3:15PM]

big ray k approves of this message

[Wwhat @ May 17th 2009 6:57PM]

Funny that your views are a perfect warning that it won't be interesting to visit your blog which you link to after exposing them.

[whollysblog @ May 17th 2009 7:20PM]

my views...huh?..what are you talking about?

[Wwhat @ May 17th 2009 7:22PM]

Good comeback, I'm not kidding either since I'm taking your statement as an intelligent joke :)

[whollysblog @ May 17th 2009 7:31PM]

lol...I really have no idea what your talking about..

[CJ @ May 17th 2009 8:49PM]

I, on the other hand, am going to interpret it as the rantings of the moronic.

[joshrock11 @ May 18th 2009 12:32AM]

The only thing I can say about this is read the book "Prey"

[notselfcreated @ May 18th 2009 11:12AM]

Ecole vs. E. Coli?

[Wwhat @ May 18th 2009 8:02PM]

Hah, nice one, since it fits.

[Wheezo @ May 18th 2009 12:19PM]

Too cool. What is the time scale involved?

[MikeC @ May 18th 2009 2:22PM]

It is Microrobot, not microbot.