Early this year, researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, had announced that they had managed to create a remote-controlled cyborg beetle by attaching a computer chip to the brain of a giant insect. Recently a video has been released of the cyber-bug in action.

The cyborg beetle was designed as part of a DARPA project that looks to equip insects with cameras and other sensors in an attempt to turn them into tiny, biological UAVs. The rhinoceros beetle was selected because, as one of the world's largest insects, it could carry the biggest payload.

While the bugs can fly under their own power, any electronics added to the lil' sentry for keeping in contact with HQ or other cyborg drones in the swarm need some kind of external power. And a radioactive isotope working as a nuclear battery does the trick perfectly. The isotope in question is Nickle-23, a barely radioactive isotope that doesn't emit enough radiation to harm a human. However, even slight beta-particle emissions are powerful enough to fuel the on board electronics of our arthropod cyborgs for up to 100 years. At present, the nuclear-powered electronics only include a five-milliwatt RFID transmitter. But eventually, the cyborgs will carry a full suite of sensors.