Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/07/17/tiny-videocamera-worn-by-an-in.html
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If you used a hercules beetle you could probably mount a full-size VHS camcorder to its back.
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And then the beetles unionised.
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Dammit! First thing I thought of. . .
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Actual video bugs. We are ware past the point where you can see the cameras and know you are being recorded.
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Beetle held by clamp, “Let me down.”
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The signal isn’t very good. Maybe they need to adjust the antennae.
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No mention though weather the insects where gender-categorized with their consent and/or any social distancing concepts where implemented …
On a side note: Who holds the copyright for the footage shot by a beetle roaming freely outdoors?
Have you tried the roboroach from Backyard Brains?
https://backyardbrains.com/products/roboroach
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“This technology can be used to study insects in the field.”
Yyyyyyyyyyyeah. That’s… that’s what we’ll use it for, all right.
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So I’ve used electronic backpacks on flying grasshoppers that are less than half the weight of their beetle setup (the attached picture is of a wireless backpack that is recording activity of individual visual neurons of the grasshopper). They can fly just fine with the weight. The camera part of their setup is only ~40 mg (the battery is always the heaviest thing). It could definitely be mounted on a locust or similarly-sized flying insect.
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Are the specs for that kind of setup published anywhere?
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The first version of the board in my pic was described in a 2011 Neuron article (attached)
Fotowat, harrison & gabbiani, 2011.pdf (2.0 MB)
Reid (the engineer who designed it) has since started his own company, but there is more money in wired devices so I don’t think he’s building new wireless ones
The pinnacle of his tiny, insect wireless stuff was a 30mg supercapacitor-charged dragonfly backpack. There are a ton of technical issues with getting good stable signals with these things though, so I don’t think that version was ever published.
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Ah, he’s designing his own ASICs it looks like? Tres interesting!
Edit: I worked for an EEG-based BCI company many years ago, so my fascination is extra-tickled. 
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Maybe this view of the chip is more interesting to you:
Along the outside of the board are inputs for neural signals (EEG would work fine)
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“The cameras can be used to study insects in the wild.”
And the other insects are all like: “Jim! What the eff is that thing on your back?”. And Jim is all like: “Dunno, Man… It just sorta appeared there.”
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And there’s data recording right on there? Or is that what the “wire” is for?
