<P> In 2014, researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign and Washington University in St. Louis had developed a device that could keep a heart beating endlessly . By using 3D printing and computer modeling these scientist developed an electronic membrane that could successfully replace pacemakers . The device utilizes a "spider - web like network of sensors and electrodes" to monitor and maintain a normal heart - rate with electrical stimuli . Unlike traditional pacemakers that are similar from patient to patient, the elastic heart glove is made custom by using high - resolution imaging technology . The first prototype was created to fit a rabbit's heart, operating the organ in an oxygen and nutrient - rich solution . The stretchable material and circuits of the apparatus were first constructed by Professor John A. Rogers in which the electrodes are arranged in a s - shape design to allow them to expand and bend without breaking . Although the device is only currently used as a research tool to study changes in heart rate, in the future the membrane may serve as a safeguard from heart attacks . </P> <P> Military organizations' research has recently focused on the utilization of cyborg animals for the purposes of a supposed tactical advantage . DARPA has announced its interest in developing "cyborg insects" to transmit data from sensors implanted into the insect during the pupal stage . The insect's motion would be controlled from a Micro-Electro - Mechanical System (MEMS) and could conceivably survey an environment or detect explosives and gas . Similarly, DARPA is developing a neural implant to remotely control the movement of sharks . The shark's unique senses would then be exploited to provide data feedback in relation to enemy ship movement or underwater explosives . </P> <P> In 2006, researchers at Cornell University invented a new surgical procedure to implant artificial structures into insects during their metamorphic development . The first insect cyborgs, moths with integrated electronics in their thorax, were demonstrated by the same researchers . The initial success of the techniques has resulted in increased research and the creation of a program called Hybrid - Insect - MEMS, HI - MEMS . Its goal, according to DARPA's Microsystems Technology Office, is to develop "tightly coupled machine - insect interfaces by placing micro-mechanical systems inside the insects during the early stages of metamorphosis". </P> <P> The use of neural implants has recently been attempted, with success, on cockroaches . Surgically applied electrodes were put on the insect, which were remotely controlled by a human . The results, although sometimes different, basically showed that the cockroach could be controlled by the impulses it received through the electrodes . DARPA is now funding this research because of its obvious beneficial applications to the military and other areas </P>

When is a robot considered to be a cyborg