BIOGRAPHY
Hirotaka Sato received his B.S.(2000), M.S. (2002), and Ph.D. (2005) in Applied Chemistry from Waseda University (Tokyo, Japan) for his work on nano/micro fabrication for MEMS using electrochemical processes including electrodeposition, electroless deposition, electrochemical etching under Professor T. Homma (Applied Chem.), Professor S. Shoji (EECS) and Prof. T. Osaka (Applied Chem.). Dr. Sato was a research associate in Waseda University from 2004 to 2006. Dr. Satos current research interests include micro bio-interface as well as nano/micro fabrication. He joined Professor Michel M. Maharbiz group to work on Hybrid Insect MEMS project in 2007 and has been developing cyborg beetles, the worlds first tetherless, neurocontrolled insects.

A Cyborg Beetle: Insect Flight Control by a Neural Stimulator [BPN451]
Despite major advances, performance of micro air vehicles (MAV’s) is still limited in terms of size, payload capacity, endurance, and controllability. Various species of insects have as-yet unmatched flight capabilities and increasingly well understood muscular and nervous systems. Additionally, some of these insects undergo complete metamorphosis making them amenable to implantation and internal manipulation during metamorphosis. In light of this, we attempt to create implantable bio-interface to electrically stimulate nervous and muscular systems of alive insect to control its flight. Our first target is beetle for the insect platform, and we would like to call it 'cyborg beetle'.