Finally! Cyborg Cockroaches Are Here

North Carolina State researchers are finding new ways to improve emergency response efforts. For years, we turned to rescue dogs for help. What's next could be rescue bugs. These high-tech insects are first responders who can get in places others can't reach.

Imagine being trapped in the rubble of a crumbled building, when you spy a cockroach coming your way through the tiny cracks in the debris. Do you breathe a sigh of relief?

You just might, if Alper Bozkurt's research works out. He's an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, and he's developing a line of cyborg cockroaches. They're real insects, but they've been equipped with an array of tiny microphones. A computer connected to the bug's neural network then guides them to locate the sounds. The idea is that one day they can help locate people whose screams for help would otherwise go unheard.

“We tell people that although you might find insects disgusting they might someday save your life,” he says.

The bugs work two ways. One type has a single, high-resolution microphone from any direction. The sound would then be transmitted to first responders. The second type would have three directional microphones that would help detect the direction from where the sound was emanating.

There's a video here that shows a cockroach reacting to cues on how to move.

The research team uses a larger species of cockroach called a Madagascar Hissing Cockroach. Bozkurt says they're big enough to carry the payload and move at a good speed for controlling their movements.

And they're also cheap. A search-and-rescue dog can cost hundreds of dollars to buy and tens of thousands more to train. Meanwhile, a pair of opposite-sex cockroaches can be had for less than a dollar, and within a few days you'd have a whole colony.

There's no training to do either – once the backpack is attached, it detects the sounds and sends a signal to the bug's antennae that guides it where to go. And because it's so small, it can get in cracks and crevices that other rescue animals couldn't reach.

Bozkurt says humans have a long history of using animals to help them work – oxen, mules, even elephants. He says the cyborg cockroaches are a new part of that history, just on a smaller scale.