Scientists have developed a tiny camera that can be put the back of a beetle. The camera can record where the bug goes. This will give the scientists a bug's-eye view the world. The researchers want to use the camera to explore places never seen before. Researcher Vikram Iyer explained why the camera could be useful. He said: "Insects can traverse rocky environments, which is really challenging robots to do this scale. So this system can also help us out letting us see or collect samples hard-to-navigate spaces." Mr Iyer is excited to see what the cameras record. He said: "This is the first time that we've had a first-person view the back of a beetle while it's walking ."
The scientists are the University of Washington the USA. They wanted to develop a camera light enough bugs to wear. It weighs just 250 grams. Their wireless camera records images at to five frames second. A researcher said: "We have created a low-power, low-weight, wireless camera system that can capture a first-person view of what's happening an actual live insect." He said one the biggest challenges when making the camera was the battery. It had to be very small and very light, enough power to last a few hours. The researchers stressed that no beetles were hurt their tests and that all the insects "lived at least a year" after the experiments finished.
