Equipment for controlling movement behaviors of living insects and design method and application of equipment

Abstract

The invention relates to equipment for controlling movement behaviors of living insects and a design method and application of the equipment. The invention develops a design method of insect control equipment which is not dependent on electrical stimulation, carries out a biological mechanism experiment and a light source attraction experiment on a target insect, explores the photoelectric physiological effect and phototaxis of the insect, obtains an insect tropism light source, and further designs an electronic backpack for emitting the insect tropism light source, so that the movement control of the insect can be realized; an electrode implantation process is avoided, so that no injury is caused to organisms; the carrying process of the electronic knapsack is fast without professional training; the optical signals hardly have negative effects on insect bodies, and can work for a long time.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of bio-integration, and relates to a device for controlling the movement behavior of living insects, and a design method and application thereof. Background Art

[0002] Although robotics research and development is relatively mature, the development of specialized microrobots, particularly insect-scale artificial robots, has been less than ideal. This is primarily due to two factors: First, robust collective control requires numerous sensors, complex mechanical structures, and sophisticated algorithms, making it difficult to scale such complex systems down to insect scale using current manufacturing methods. Second, even with some existing insect-scale robots with simple functions and structures, existing power supplies (primarily lithium batteries) are unable to provide sufficient energy for long-term operation. These two factors severely limit the application of microrobots.

[0003] The emergence of insect-machine fusion robots has, to some extent, addressed these issues. Insect-machine fusion, a form of bio-integration, refers to the integration of artificial mechanical and electronic systems with biological organisms. These systems often combine the controllability of artificial systems with the ability of biological organisms to adapt to unknown environments. First, the electronic backpack carried by the insect serves only to control the insect's behavior and collect information, while the system's movement is accomplished by the insect's own energy and structure. Second, the system maintains the insect's inherent locomotion, resulting in superior obstacle avoidance and robustness compared to purely mechanical structures. Research on insect-machine fusion for insect motion control began in 1997, and after years of development, motion control has now been achieved in a variety of insects. Motion control research encompasses multiple aspects, including the controlled species, control methods, stimulation sites, signal parameters, and motion patterns.

[0004] The current method for controlling insect movement is mainly electrical stimulation. This stimulation method requires connecting electrodes to the insect's nerves or tissues, and uses the insect's escape response after being electrically stimulated to control the direction of its movement. For example, CN118456440A discloses an insect movement control method, equipment, medium, and system based on neural electrical stimulation. Electrical stimulation has the following main drawbacks: (1) The electrode implantation process requires opening a hole in the insect's body surface or directly removing some organs, which has potential adverse effects on the insect's lifespan and potential bioethical issues; (2) The electrode implantation process is time-consuming and requires professional training, making it unsuitable for large-scale application; (3) Electrical stimulation can damage the insect's body, and long-term stimulation reduces its sensitivity to stimulation, making it difficult to continue working.

[0005] To sum up, how to develop insect motion control methods and equipment that are not dependent on electrical stimulation is still one of the problems that need to be urgently solved in the field of insect-machine fusion technology. Summary of the Invention

[0006] In view of the deficiencies of the prior art and actual needs, the present application provides a device for controlling the motion behavior of living insects and a design method and application thereof, so as to realize the motion control of insects without relying on electrical stimulation.

[0007] To achieve the above purpose, the present application adopts the following technical solutions:

[0008] In a first aspect, the present application provides a design method of a device for controlling the motion behavior of living insects, which comprises:

[0009] The electrophysiological platform is used to analyze the electrophysiological response of insects to different wavelength light sources, and the light sources are sequentially sorted according to the intensity of the electrophysiological response of insects from large to small.

[0010] The light sources with high electrophysiological response of insects are selected for light induction test of insects, the phototaxis of insects is analyzed, and the light sources are sequentially sorted according to the intensity of the phototaxis of insects from large to small.

[0011] The light sources with high phototaxis of insects are selected, and a device capable of emitting the light sources with high phototaxis of insects is prepared.

[0012] In the present application, the electrophysiological and behavioral experiments are used to explore the photoelectrophysiological effect and phototaxis of insects, so as to determine the type of light source with high attraction to insects, and further guide the design of the behavior control device, thereby providing a new idea for developing the device for controlling the motion behavior of insects.

[0013] Preferably, the light induction test comprises: placing the insects in a field provided with light sources on one side, and observing the behavioral response of the insects under the attraction of different light sources.

[0014] In a second aspect, the present application provides an electronic backpack for controlling the motion behavior of living insects, which comprises: a single-chip microcomputer development board, a radio frequency receiving module, an antenna, a resistor, a stimulating light source, a battery, a pin header and a pin socket; wherein the radio frequency receiving module, the resistor, the stimulating light source and the pin socket are located on the upper surface of the single-chip microcomputer development board; the antenna is located on the upper surface of the radio frequency receiving module; the battery is connected with the pin header and the pin socket, and is located on the upper surface of the single-chip microcomputer development board.

[0015] Preferably, the D2 pin of the single-chip microcomputer development board is connected with the DAT pin of the radio frequency receiving module, and is used for radio frequency receiving module information input.

[0016] Preferably, the D3 pin of the single-chip microcomputer development board is connected with the VCC pin of the radio frequency receiving module, and is set to a constant high level through a program.

[0017] Preferably, the GND pin adjacent to the D2 pin of the single-chip microcomputer development board is soldered to the GND pin of the radio frequency receiving module, and together with the D3 pin, supplies power to the radio frequency receiving module.

[0018] Preferably, the antenna is welded to the ANT pin of the radio frequency receiving module for receiving radio frequency signals.

[0019] Preferably, the stimulation light source is provided with a pin LED lamp bead.

[0020] In the present invention, the number of the stimulation light sources can be set according to actual needs, such as being set to 2, and the two are set to have a certain interval and are located on both sides of the insect when in use.

[0021] Preferably, the positive pin of the stimulation light source is respectively connected to the A1 and A3 pins of the single-chip microcomputer development board by welding.

[0022] Preferably, the negative pins of the stimulation light sources are each connected to one side pin of the resistor; the other side pin of the resistor is connected to the GND pin welding position of the single chip microcomputer development board to form a closed loop.

[0023] Preferably, the pins of the female header are soldered to a pair of adjacent VCC and GND pins on the short side of the microcontroller development board.

[0024] Preferably, the positive and negative electrodes of the battery are welded to one end of the pin header, and the other end of the pin header is plugged into the female header to supply power to the single-chip microcomputer development board.

[0025] In the present invention, the battery can be a rechargeable battery.

[0026] Preferably, the VCC, GND, RX, and TX pins of the single-chip microcomputer development board are used to provide program writing services.

[0027] In a third aspect, the present invention provides a method for preparing the electronic backpack for controlling the movement behavior of living insects according to the second aspect, the preparation method comprising the following steps:

[0028] (S1) welding the antenna to one side of the radio frequency receiving module, and welding the other side of the radio frequency receiving module to the single chip microcomputer development board;

[0029] (S2) bending the bases of the positive and negative pins of the stimulation light source; bending the end of the positive pin of the stimulation light source, and then welding the bent end to the corresponding pin of the single-chip microcomputer development board;

[0030] (S3) bending one end pin of the resistor from the base and welding it to the corresponding pin of the single chip microcomputer development board; adjusting the bending angle of the other end pin and welding it to the negative electrode pin of the stimulation light source;

[0031] (S4) welding the busbar to the corresponding pin of the single-chip microcomputer development board;

[0032] (S5) welding the pin of the bus pin to the positive and negative poles of the battery respectively, and inserting the bus pin into the busbar.

[0033] In a fourth aspect, the application provides an application of the electronic backpack for controlling the motion behavior of live insects in controlling the motion of insects.

[0034] In a fifth aspect, the application provides a method for controlling the motion of insects, which comprises loading the electronic backpack for controlling the motion behavior of live insects on the body of the insects, and controlling the light source of the electronic backpack to emit.

[0035] Preferably, the insects include Florence ladybugs.

[0036] Compared with the prior art, the application has at least the following beneficial effects:

[0037] The application develops a non-electric stimulation dependent insect control device design method, performs biological mechanism experiments and light source attraction experiments on target insects, explores the photoelectric physiological effect and phototaxis of insects, obtains an insect attractive light source, and further designs an electronic backpack emitting the insect attractive light source, so that the motion of the insects can be controlled, the electrode implantation process is free of trauma to the living organisms, the electronic backpack loading process is fast and does not require professional training, and the light signal almost has no negative effect on the body of the insects and can work for a long time. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0038] Figure 1 Fig. 1 is a structural schematic diagram of an electronic backpack for controlling the motion of insects, which comprises a single-chip microcomputer development board 1, a radio frequency receiving module 2, an antenna 3, a resistor 4, a stimulating light source 5, a battery 6, a bus pin 7, and a busbar 8.

[0039] Figure 2 Fig. 4 is a diagram of the change of the turning angle of the body of the insects with the test time.

[0040] Figure 3 Fig. 5 is a diagram of the change of the turning angular velocity of the body of the insects before and after the light is turned on. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0041] The technical solutions of the application are further described below in combination with the drawings and through specific embodiments. However, the following examples are only simple examples of the application, and do not represent or limit the protection scope of the application, and the protection scope of the application is subject to the claims.

[0042] If no specific techniques or conditions are specified in the examples, the experiments were carried out according to the techniques or conditions described in the literature in the field or according to the product instructions. If no manufacturer is specified for the reagents or instruments used, they are all conventional products that can be purchased through regular channels.

[0043] Example 1

[0044] This embodiment provides a design and research method for a device for controlling the movement behavior of living insects, taking the female Florence insect as an example.

[0045] (1) Conduct biological mechanism experiments on target insects:

[0046] Female Florentine insects were first examined using an electrophysiological platform to study the electrophysiological responses of the insect's compound eyes to light sources of different wavelengths. The specific process was as follows: First, two glass electrodes were filled with electrode solution and attached to the recording and reference electrodes, respectively. Using a micromanipulator, the recording electrode was connected to the surface of the insect's compound eye, and the reference electrode was connected to the head exoskeleton. The compound eyes were then stimulated using LED light sources of the same illumination but different wavelengths, and the electrophysiological responses were recorded using software. The results showed that the insects had a stronger electrophysiological response to blue and green light, a weaker response to yellow light, and a very weak response to red light.

[0047] (2) The researchers then used a square arena with a light source on one side to study the behavioral responses of insects to different light sources, focusing on their responses to blue and green light. The results showed that insects had a strong tendency to move toward blue light, but did not show obvious phototaxis when lured by green and red light, and exhibited photophobia when lured by yellow light.

[0048] (3) The above experimental results show that the selected insects have a strong tendency to blue light sources. Therefore, blue LED lights are selected as the lure light source to construct a photoelectric lure device that can be carried by insects (i.e., an electronic backpack).

[0049] Example 2

[0050] This embodiment constructs a device (electronic backpack) for controlling the movement behavior of living insects.

[0051] The electronic backpack structure diagram is as follows Figure 1 As shown, it includes: a single-chip microcomputer development board 1, a radio frequency receiving module 2, an antenna 3, a resistor 4, a stimulation light source 5, a battery 6 (a rechargeable battery can be selected), a pin header 7, and a female header 8; wherein the radio frequency receiving module 2, the resistor 4, the stimulation light source 5, and the female header 8 are located on the upper surface of the single-chip microcomputer development board 1; the antenna 3 is located on the upper surface of the radio frequency receiving module 2; the battery 6 is connected to the female header 8 through the pin header 7 and is located on the upper surface of the single-chip microcomputer development board 1.

[0052] The single-chip microcomputer development board 1 uses a commercial Arduino Pro mini; the radio frequency receiving module 2 uses a commercial SYN520R radio frequency module, and the communication wave band is 433 MHz; the single-chip microcomputer development board 1 is connected with the radio frequency receiving module 2 through the pin 7 (1x3P standard pin with a pitch of 2.54 mm).

[0053] The D2 pin of the single-chip microcomputer development board 1 is connected with the DAT pin of the radio frequency receiving module 2, and is used for radio frequency receiving module information input; the D3 pin of the single-chip microcomputer development board 1 is connected with the VCC pin of the radio frequency receiving module 2, and is set to a constant high level through a program; the GND pin adjacent to the D2 pin of the single-chip microcomputer development board 1 is connected with the GND pin of the radio frequency receiving module 2, and is used for power supply of the radio frequency receiving module 2 together with the D3 pin; and the antenna 3 is connected with the ANT pin of the radio frequency receiving module 2, and is used for receiving a radio frequency signal.

[0054] The stimulating light source 5 is provided with two pin LED lamp beads. The resistance 4 uses two 1kΩ pin resistors. The positive pins of the two stimulating light sources 5 are respectively connected with the A1 and A3 pins of the single-chip microcomputer development board 1; the negative pins of the stimulating light sources 5 are respectively connected with one side pin of the resistance 4; and the other side pin of the resistance 4 is connected with the GND pin of the single-chip microcomputer development board 1, so as to form a closed loop.

[0055] The pin 7 and the pin female 8 use 1x2P standard connectors with a pitch of 2.54 mm. The two pins of the pin female 8 are connected with a pair of adjacent VCC and GND pins on the short side of the single-chip microcomputer development board 1. The positive and negative poles of the battery 6 are welded with one end of the pin 7, and the other end of the pin 7 can be connected with the pin female 8, so as to provide power supply for the single-chip microcomputer development board 1.

[0056] The VCC, GND, RX and TX pins of the single-chip microcomputer development board 1 are used for providing program writing services.

[0057] The electronic backpack assembly process is as follows:

[0058] In order to facilitate description, in the following, the side of the single-chip microcomputer development board 1 and the radio frequency receiving module 2 provided with elements is defined as a front side, and the side without elements is defined as a back side. This part only describes the assembly process of the electronic backpack, and the specific pin connection mode is as described above.

[0059] 1) The antenna 3 is welded on the front side of the radio frequency receiving module 2; one side of the pin 7 (1x3P) is welded on the back side of the radio frequency receiving module 2; and the other side of the pin 7 (1x3P) is welded on the front side of the single-chip microcomputer development board 1;

[0060] 2) Bend the bases of the positive and negative pins of the stimulation light source 5 by 100°; bend the end of the positive pin of the stimulation light source 5 by about 1mm, at a bending angle of 90°, and then solder the bent end to the corresponding pin of the single-chip microcomputer development board 1;

[0061] 3) Bend one end of the resistor 4 90° from the base and solder it to the corresponding pin on the MCU development board 1. Adjust the bending angle of the other end and solder it to the negative pin of the stimulus light source 5.

[0062] 4) Solder the female header 8 to the corresponding pins of the MCU development board;

[0063] 5) Cut off the excess parts of the pin header 7, resistor 4, stimulation light source 5 and female header 8 pins on the RF receiving module 2;

[0064] 6) Solder the two pins of pin header 7 (1×2P) to the positive and negative electrodes of battery 6 respectively;

[0065] When in use, the electronic backpack can be powered by inserting the pin header 7 on the pool 6 into the female header 8.

[0066] Example 3

[0067] This embodiment uses the electronic backpack constructed in Example 2 to perform insect-machine fusion and motion control.

[0068] 1) Test insects: Female Florentina insects were used for the movement control test.

[0069] 2) Electronic backpack mounting: Use double-sided adhesive to fix the electronic backpack on the pronotum of the test insect to complete the electronic backpack mounting.

[0070] 3) Install the battery to power the electronic backpack.

[0071] 4) The corresponding control signal is sent through the host computer, and the lighting state of the stimulation light sources (emitting blue light) on both sides is controlled to induce the insect to complete the predetermined turning movement.

[0072] 5) Control Test: The experiment was conducted under low-light conditions. Insects equipped with electronic backpacks were placed on one side of a 50 cm × 50 cm test area. They were first allowed to crawl freely for a certain distance. Then, a stimulus light source on one side was turned on. The crawling trajectory before and after the stimulation was recorded through video, and the body turning angle and turning angular velocity were calculated.

[0073] The body steering angle changes with the test time as shown in the following figure: Figure 2 As shown in the figure, the gray line indicates that the stimulus light source is not turned on, the red line indicates the movement after the left-turn stimulus light source is turned on, and the blue line indicates the movement after the right-turn stimulus light source is turned on; the changes in the turning angular velocity of the individual before and after the LED light at the front of the electronic backpack is turned on are shown in Figure 3As shown, the red violin plot shows the change in angular velocity before and after a left-turn stimulus; the blue violin plot shows the change in angular velocity before and after a right-turn stimulus. ns indicates no statistically significant difference, ** indicates a highly significant difference (P < 0.01), and *** indicates an extremely significant difference (P < 0.005). The results show that turning on one side of the light significantly induced turning movements in the subjects.

[0074] In summary, the present invention develops a design method for insect control equipment that is not dependent on electrical stimulation, conducts biological mechanism experiments and light source attraction experiments on target insects, explores the photoelectric physiological effects and phototaxis of insects, obtains insect tactic light sources, and further designs an electronic backpack that emits insect tactic light sources, which can realize insect movement control without the electrode implantation process and is non-traumatic to organisms; the electronic backpack is quickly installed and does not require professional training; the light signal has almost no negative impact on the insect body and can work for a long time.

[0075] The applicant declares that the above is only a specific embodiment of the present invention, but the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited thereto. Those skilled in the art should understand that any changes or substitutions that can be easily thought of by those skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed by the present invention fall within the scope of protection and disclosure of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for designing a device for controlling the movement behavior of living insects, characterized in that: The method comprises: The electrophysiological response of insects to light sources of different wavelengths was analyzed using an electrophysiological platform, and the light sources were ranked in descending order based on the intensity of the insects' electrophysiological responses. Select the light source with the highest electrophysiological response intensity to conduct light induction test on insects, analyze the insects' tendency to light sources, and sort the light sources in descending order according to the intensity of the insects' tendency to light sources; A light source that insects tend to move toward is selected, and an insect-carryable device capable of emitting the light source that insects tend to move toward is prepared.

2. An electronic backpack for controlling the movement behavior of living insects, characterized in that: The electronic backpack comprises: a single chip microcomputer development board (1), a radio frequency receiving module (2), an antenna (3), a resistor (4), a stimulation light source (5), a battery (6), a pin header (7) and a female header (8); The radio frequency receiving module (2), the resistor (4), the stimulation light source (5), and the female connector (8) are located on the upper surface of the single-chip microcomputer development board (1); the antenna (3) is located on the upper surface of the radio frequency receiving module (2); and the battery (6) is connected to the female connector (8) via the pin header (7) and is located on the upper surface of the single-chip microcomputer development board (1).

3. The electronic backpack for controlling the movement behavior of living insects according to claim 2, characterized in that: The D2 pin of the single-chip microcomputer development board (1) is soldered to the DAT pin of the radio frequency receiving module (2) for inputting information to the radio frequency receiving module; Preferably, the D3 pin of the single-chip microcomputer development board (1) is soldered to the VCC pin of the radio frequency receiving module (2), and a constant high level is set through a program; Preferably, the GND pin adjacent to the D2 pin of the single-chip microcomputer development board (1) is soldered to the GND pin of the radio frequency receiving module (2), and together with the D3 pin, supplies power to the radio frequency receiving module (2).

4. The electronic backpack for controlling the movement behavior of living insects according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that: The antenna (3) is welded to the ANT pin of the radio frequency receiving module (2) and is used to receive radio frequency signals.

5. The electronic backpack for controlling the movement behavior of living insects according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that: The stimulation light source (5) is provided with a pin LED lamp bead; Preferably, the positive pin of the stimulation light source (5) is respectively connected to the A1 and A3 pins of the single-chip microcomputer development board (1); Preferably, the negative pins of the stimulation light source (5) are each connected to one side pin of the resistor (4); the other side pin of the resistor (4) is connected to the GND pin welding position of the single chip microcomputer development board (1) to form a closed loop.

6. The electronic backpack for controlling the movement behavior of living insects according to any one of claims 2 to 5, characterized in that: The pins of the female header (8) are soldered to a pair of adjacent VCC and GND pins on the short side of the single-chip microcomputer development board (1); Preferably, the positive and negative electrodes of the battery (6) are welded to one end of the pin header (7), and the other end of the pin header (7) is plugged into the female header (8) to supply power to the single-chip microcomputer development board (1).

7. The electronic backpack for controlling the movement behavior of living insects according to any one of claims 2 to 6, characterized in that: The VCC, GND, RX and TX pins of the single chip microcomputer development board (1) are used to provide program writing services.

8. The method for preparing the electronic backpack for controlling the movement behavior of living insects according to any one of claims 2 to 6, characterized in that: The preparation method comprises the following steps: (S1) welding the antenna (3) to one side of the radio frequency receiving module (2), and welding the other side of the radio frequency receiving module (2) to the single chip microcomputer development board (1); (S2) bending the bases of the positive and negative pins of the stimulation light source (5); bending the end of the positive pin of the stimulation light source (5), and then welding the bent end to the corresponding pin of the single-chip microcomputer development board (1); (S3) bending one end pin of the resistor (4) from the base and welding it to the corresponding pin of the single chip microcomputer development board (1); adjusting the bending angle of the other end pin and welding it to the negative electrode pin of the stimulation light source (5); (S4) welding the female header (8) to corresponding pins of the single chip microcomputer development board; (S5) Welding the pins of the pin header (7) to the positive and negative electrodes of the battery (6) respectively, and inserting the pin header (7) into the female header (8).

9. Use of the electronic backpack for controlling the movement behavior of living insects according to any one of claims 2 to 8 in controlling the movement of insects.

10. A method for controlling insect movement, characterized in that: The method comprises loading the electronic backpack for controlling the movement behavior of a living insect according to any one of claims 2 to 8 onto the body of the insect, and controlling the electronic backpack to emit a light source.

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