The colugo is an interesting animal. Also known as a flying lemur, this native rainforest creature has large skin flaps that allow it to guide through the air, similar to the way a flying squirrel takes flight. What’s this have to do with video games, you ask? Well, technically, nothing. Or at least, nothing until Andrew Spence and a team of scientists decided to study the flight of the colugo using video game technology.

Using an accelerometer like the one found in Nintendo Wii controllers, along with a memory chip, Spence created a backpack for the colugos that would feel and record all of the movements of the animal. Scientists attached this backpack by shaving a patch off the animals’ backs and gluing on sensors with surgical adhesives. I’m not too sure I care for that method, but then again I got a C in biology, so what do I know.



These backpacks went on to give the scientists a lot of insight into the flight of the colugo. What’s the point? Well, it just goes to show that video game technology can be used for a lot more than it is initially designed for. With a little bit of imagination (and some scientific knowledge is probably necessary, too), who knows what else can be accomplished with the help of video games?