Russia is pioneering remote controlled spy pigeons fitted with brain implants.
A state-linked Moscow neurotechnology firm boasts its operators can steer flocks of the flying pests across the sky at will.
Researchers have launched field tests of so-called ‘bird-biodrones’ known as PJN-1, ordinary pigeons surgically implanted with neural chips that allow technicians to direct their flight routes.
The birds can be steered remotely in real time, with operators able to upload flight commands by stimulating targeted regions of the brain.
The pigeon then ‘believes it wants to fly’ in the instructed direction, claim sources at Neiry, which has deep ties to the Kremlin’s hi-tech innovation machine.
Surgery is carried out in which electrodes are inserted into the brain with millimetre precision.
The birds wear tiny solar-powered backpacks containing onboard electronics, GPS tracking, and the receiver that transmits signals into the neural implant.
Chillingly, Neiry insists that ‘no training is required’, declaring that any animal becomes ‘remotely controllable after the operation’ – with pigeons capable of covering 310 miles a day, or more than 1,850 miles in a week.
The birds can be steered remotely in real time, with operators able to upload flight commands by stimulating targeted regions of the brain
Neiry insists that ‘no training is required’, declaring that any animal becomes ‘remotely controllable after the operation’
‘Right now, the solution works on pigeons, but any bird can be used as the carrier,’ said Alexander Panov, company founder.
‘For transporting heavier payloads we plan to use ravens, for coastal monitoring — seagulls, and for large marine territories — albatrosses.’
While the company claims it is ‘striving for a 100 per cent survival rate,’ it has not revealed how many birds have died during or after the invasive procedure.
The flock-steering technology — which the company says can be used for ‘monitoring and guarding sensitive facilities’ — may be transferred into military or intelligence applications.
Pigeons are already a mainstay of Russian urban life, and their ability to blend into civilian environments could make them ideal for discreet surveillance, but the fitted spy cameras could also be used in – for example – war zones, such as in Ukraine.
‘The pigeon-biodrone PJN-1 differs from an ordinary bird only by the neuro-interface wire protruding from its head and the small backpack containing electronics,’ stated the company.
‘Its main purpose is to provide almost any type of monitoring — for example environmental or industrial — to carry out search-and-rescue operations, and to serve as an additional security layer.’
The ‘biodrones’ are Neiry’s ‘new product’, says the company.
A state-linked Moscow neurotechnology firm boasts its operators can steer flocks of the flying pests across the sky at will
Researchers have launched field tests of so-called ‘bird-biodrones’ known as PJN-1
‘Instead of a flying machine, scientists and engineers have begun using living birds with a chip in their brain.
‘Thanks to the neurochip, the biodrone’s operator can control the bird by uploading a flight assignment to it, just like with an ordinary UAV.
‘An important difference between a biodrone and a trained animal is that no training is required.
‘Any animal becomes remotely controllable after surgery.
‘Thanks to neuro-stimulation of specific areas of the brain, the bird itself ‘wants’ to move in the desired direction.’
The attached electronics are powered by solar panels located on the pigeon’s back.
‘The risk of a biodrone falling or crashing is low and equals the natural probability of a bird falling from the sky. Therefore, biodrones can be safely used in cities.’
The pigeon’s brain contains electrodes connected to a stimulator and located in the backpack on the bird’s back.
‘The stimulator sends impulses influencing the bird’s motivation to turn left or right, for example. System positioning is performed using GPS and other methods.’
The company has already faced criticism for tampering with cow brains in a bid to boost milk yields.
Neiry has received funding from National Technology Initiative (NTI) programmes and investment structures connected to RDIF, the Kremlin’s sovereign wealth arm, headed by close Putin crony Kirill Dmitriev, currently deployed as a negotiator with the US on peace moves in Ukraine.
It is also a resident of Skolkovo, the government-sponsored tech cluster long viewed as Moscow’s Silicon Valley.
The bird spies’ ploy resembles the Russian training of combat dolphins.
Pictures show the dolphins trained to patrol seas and destroy underwater saboteurs or plant limpet mines or for reconnaissance.
The mammals were taught to alert their human controllers – or deliver lethal strikes from underwater guns, a warfare programme that began in Soviet times.
