Created in 2006, the unit's goal is the creation of tightly coupled machine-insect interfaces by placing micro-mechanical systems inside the insects during the early stages of metamorphosis.
[1] After implantation, the "insect cyborgs" could be controlled by sending electrical impulses to their muscles.
[3] In 2008, a team from the University of Michigan demonstrated a cyborg unicorn beetle at an academic conference in Tucson, Arizona.
The beetle was able to take off and land, turn left or right, and demonstrate other flight behaviors.
[4] Researchers at Cornell University demonstrated the successful implantation of electronic probes into tobacco hornworms in the pupal stage.