Every year I write at least one anecdote to offer some levity to the otherwise dry subject of biocontrol and integrated pest management. These anecdotes are meant to make you smile, as well as deliver a subtle educational message. I really enjoy writing these; to imagine and produce — it’s fun. Normally the annual story goes in our catalog, but this year we left it out. It is right here so it wasn’t forgotten — just trying to save paper and printing costs. Enjoy:
It was May 10th, 2018, and the think tank assigned to tackle to the growing “blue aphid” (Aphis azurii) pandemic convened for one last time. This pest was generating dire headlines worldwide so government involvement was a given. A DC Think Tank was retained for $28 million to take the problem on. That was three years ago and today is the group’s final meeting. Today the members would present the solution to a select group of government officials to include the USDA, Senator Spendless, who was the oversight committee chair assigned by the President herself, and several others. Since we were lucky enough to secure a special press pass, let’s drop in on this final meeting to see what they came up with.
“Ladies and gentlemen, Senator, members of the press, thank you for meeting with us this morning. We know you’re eager to implement our solution so barring objections, we will dive right in,” Dr. Rondeau said.
The people in room stayed quiet so the doctor continued.
“There were many ways we could have addressed this problem but there were also many considerations to be made along the way. Creating a new pesticide class was one such consideration, but based on this aphid’s disposition to rapid pesticide resistance we decided we would have to reach ahead, thinking outside the box, and devise a more forward-thinking approach. Namely nanotech robotics.”
“Our approach was to tackle this pest on a physical level. If it helps, think of our nano-robotic devices as soldiers capable of physically destroying these aphids,” the doctor added.
There was a hushed murmuring among the obviously inquisitive attendees. When the room was quiet again the doctor continued.
“We decided a nanotech robotic solution, while expensive, would be in our best long term interest. As the name implies our device is small, but when I explain the unit’s features, I’m confident you will be satisfied with our solution.”
“I could hand you our prototype now, but if you’ll indulge me, I would like to break down the process of creating this device and the steps we followed along the way so you will better understand its features and our process of bringing it to fruition.”
“In front of each of you is a multi-page document detailing the device’s specifications. I am going to go through this document, item by item and I ask that you follow along,” the doctor invited.
Among the rustling of the reports, the attendees nodded their understanding so the doctor, referring the document, addressed the first item.
“As you can see, following the Abstract, Objective, Introduction, and modular construction overview, the first item, located on page three, is the unit sizing requirements. We wanted to keep production costs down, yet we needed a small enough device to meet the problem head on, on its own level. We decided on a finished unit overall size of 7 by 4 millimeters. This was the minimum size that allowed us to properly house the internal mechanisms, micro-motors, and its operating system chip,” the doctor explained.
“The next item, as explained on page four, is pest location. We decided on a multi-prong approach to this. The device is so-enabled to “see” the pest by actual ocular capabilities, vibration sensing by way of a dual antenna array, and scent processing using a pair of receptor appendages. We focused on this last attribute more than the others. Since aphids emit chemicals as a form of intra-species communication, we decided to install receptors that could detect pheromones and kairomones primarily.”
“Next item, as you can see on page five, is our aphid processing strategy. This was tricky because we needed to offer a maintenance-free solution. We decided on a three part process: input, processing, then output. The input is located on one end of the device, processing is internal, and output is located at the opposite end.”
“Like a digestive tract?” someone asked.
“Exactly,” the doctor replied. “The unit inputs the aphids with help of two grabber units. The input module contains mastication units designed to first kill then break down the pest into parts small enough to enter the inner processing module. From there the aphid is reduced to a liquid state before being sent to the output apparatus. The liquid output is non-toxic and actually has natural fertilization attributes.”
“Now the next item, page six, we address structural methods we devised to protect the device’s components while supporting it. The structure is split into three parts. First there is the input module coverings, followed by the forward mobility unit coverings, then the main rear module and processing unit coverings. The three modules are covered from above and below with a new material we’re referring to as a fiber-chitin. It’s very strong, water resistant, and it allowed us to completely forgo additional internal structures. The underside coverings are black (the material’s natural coloring). The topside coverings are also black with exception to two white sensing receptors on the input module and the main module which we colored red to make locating these devices easier if needed.”
“The red covering also contains multiple photo voltaic discs — dots we call them — but this will be covered later in this presentation. Now, please turn to the next page,” the doctor instructed. “Here we will address mobility.”
“The red topside coverings are divided and can be actuated to lift up and away. Sort like gull wing doors on some cars. When these panels are lifted it exposes two membranous panels designed to cycle in such a way to cause lift and ‘fly’ the robotic unit from location to location. This rear mobility unit was the most challenging part of the process, but by synchronizing the location functions with those for mobility we succeeded.”
“I you recall, I previously mentioned a ‘forward mobility unit,’” the doctor reminded. “This, as its name tells us, is forward of the rear unit containing the membranous panels. This unit is for overland mobility. We decided robotic ‘legs’ would be the best method and opted for six. This, we learned, offers the best stability, surface adherence, and negotiation on irregular surfaces.”
“Six legs and two wings?” someone inquired.
“Yes, that is accurate.” the doctor confirmed.
He then continued…
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