Dawn of the cyborg COCKROACH: Bionic bugs could be sent to d
Source: Sarah Griffiths

        Researchers at North Carolina State University have fitted cockroaches with electrical 'backpacks' to control their movement
        Device is wired to their sensory organs and contains microphones
        Cyborg roaches are programmed to seek out the faintest of noises
        They could one day be sent into crumpled buildings to seek out trapped survivors of earthquakes and send data to emergency workers, for example


Cockroaches are known to be able to survive a nuclear explosion �C and once day they could be saving trapped victims in a variety of disasters.

Researchers have fitted the hardy creatures with electrical backpacks complete with tiny microphones to detect the faintest of sounds.

The idea is that cyborg cockroaches, or ‘biobots’, could enter crumpled buildings hit by earthquakes, for example, and help emergency workers find survivors.

Rise of the robo-roach: Scientists have developed technology that allows cyborg cockroaches, or biobots (pictured) to pick up sounds with small microphones and seek out the source of the sound. They could one day be used in emergency situations to detect survivors

‘In a collapsed building, sound is the best way to find survivors,’ said Alper Bozkurt, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at North Carolina State University.

‘The goal is to use the biobots with high-resolution microphones to differentiate between sounds that matter - like people calling for help - from sounds that don't matter - like a leaking pipe.

Cockroaches to the rescue? Cyborg cockroaches, or ‘biobots’ could one day enter crumpled buildings hit by earthquakes and help emergency works find survivors. A rescue worker searching for victims is pictured

The ‘backpacks’ control the robo-roach's movements because they are wired to the insect’s cerci - sensory organs that cockroaches usually use to feel if their abdomens brush against something.

By electrically stimulating the cerci, cockroaches can be prompted to move in a certain direction.

In fact, they have been programmed to seek out sound.   

One type of 'backpack' is equipped with an array of three directional microphones to detect the direction of the sound and steer the biobot in the right direction towards it.

Another type is fitted with a single microphone to capture sound from any direction, which can be wirelessly transmitted - perhaps in the future to emergency workers.

They ‘worked well’ in lab tests and the experts have developed technology that can be used as an ‘invisible fence’ to keep the biobots in a certain area such as a disaster area, the researchers announced at the IEEE Sensors 2014 conference in Valencia, Spain.

A previous study led by Dr Edgar Lobaton, who is also at the university, showed that biobots can be used to map a disaster area.

Dr Lobaton and Professor Bozkurt plan on merging their research to both map disaster areas and pinpoint survivors.