Files and links (1)
Advanced Intelligent Systems - 2026 - Le - Terrestrial Cyborg Insects for Real‐Life Applications5.21 MB
Published Version (Advanced Access)CC BY V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
Terrestrial Cyborg Insects for Real-Life Applications
Advanced Intelligent Systems, Vol.Advanced access
26-Feb-2026
Abstract
Since 1997, terrestrial cyborg insects have emerged as a promising alternative to insect-scale artificial robots for real-world applications, such as urban search and rescue or exploration in complex environments, due to their self-powered and self-adaptable organic bodies with naturally integrated sensors. Over the last two decades, this field has been growing rapidly with novel methodologies for locomotion control of living insects and the integration of onboard miniature devices, which have been used not only for environmental data collection but also for unlocking hybrid abilities of insect species. These developments require a range of interdisciplinary expertise from researchers, including both biology and engineering backgrounds. As such, this review aims to provide a comprehensive perspective on the current state of the art through three aspects: locomotion capabilities with corresponding proactive control methods for terrestrial insects, challenges with proposed solutions, and practical applications based on developed projects. With in-depth analysis and classification of influential studies, this work outlines clear research directions to support the advancement of terrestrial cyborg insect technology toward real-world deployment and scalable production in the near future.
Details
- Title
- Terrestrial Cyborg Insects for Real-Life Applications
- Authors
- Hai Nhan Le - The University of QueenslandLachlan Fitzgerald - The University of QueenslandPhuoc Thien Phan - UNSW SydneyRobbie S Wilson - The University of QueenslandChristofer Clemente - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Science, Technology and EngineeringHuu Duoc Nguyen - KLASS Engineering and Solutions Pte Ltd (Singapore)Hirotaka Sato - Nanyang Technological UniversityHoang-Phuong Phan - UNSW SydneyPeter Ross McAree - The University of QueenslandThanh Nho Do (Corresponding Author) - UNSW SydneyTat Thang Vo-Doan (Corresponding Author) - The University of Queensland
- Publication details
- Advanced Intelligent Systems, Vol.Advanced access
- Publisher
- Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA
- DOI
- 10.1002/aisy.202501119
- ISSN
- 2640-4567
- Copyright note
- © 2026 The Author(s). Advanced Intelligent Systems published by Wiley-VCH GmbH. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
- Data Availability
- Supporting Information is available from the Wiley Online Library or from the author.
- Grant note
- This work was funded by a New Staff Research Start-up Fund from UQ Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology and School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering (NS-2307) to T.T.V.-D., UNSW Scientia Fellowship Grant (PS46197-A), the Cancer Institute NSW Career Development Fellowship (RG243183), NHMRC Ideas Grant (RG241515), Cardiovascular Early-Mid Career Researcher Grants (RG242730), and the UNSW GRIP Award (PS74064) to T.N.D., and the Singapore Ministry of Education [RG82/24] to H.S.
- Organisation Unit
- School of Science, Technology and Engineering; Centre for Bioinnovation
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991209781202621
- Output Type
- Journal article
Metrics
1 File views/ downloads
8 Record Views
InCites Highlights
These are selected metrics from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool, related to this output
- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- International collaboration
- Web Of Science research areas
- Automation & Control Systems
- Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence
- Robotics