A remote-controlled animal is controlled via a radio link. Electrodes have to be implanted in the animal's brain and it has to carry a receiver (typically on its back). The electrodes do not move the animal directly, as one would move a robot; instead, they are used to signal its desired direction or action, then stimulate the animal's reward centers if it complies. Because of the surgery required (and the moral issues involved, especially regarding animal welfare and animal rights), the method is unlikely to replace conventional animal training methods.
Animals that have been used as candidates for remote control include:
- American cockroach (Tokyo University, 1997)
- Rats (State University of New York, 2002)
- Dogfish Shark (Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, Massachusetts, 2005)
- Pigeons (Shandong University of Science and Technology, China, 2007)
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