Disaster rescue bug: A Madagascar hissing cockroach, mounted with a ‘backpack’ of electronics and a solar cell that enable remote control of its movement, is primed as a first responder to locate victims trapped under rubble. — Reuters
SAITAMA (Japan): If an earthquake strikes in the not too distant future and survivors are trapped under tonnes of rubble, the first responders to locate them could be swarms of cyborg cockroaches.
That’s a potential application of a recent breakthrough by Japanese researchers who demonstrated the ability to mount “backpacks” of solar cells and electronics on the bugs and control their motion by remote control.
