Giant cyborg cockroaches could join 'search and rescue teams' in the future

Researchers in Australia have attached "backpacks" to beetles and cockroaches to control their movements , hoping these robotic hybrids could become future rescue "workers".

The 'patient' was immersed in an ice bath as an anesthetic for the upcoming surgery.

Once the necessary anesthetic was achieved, University of Queensland (Australia) student Lachlan Fitzgerald began the process by carefully attaching a small circuit board to the 'patient's' back to create a biohybrid robot - part living body, part machine.

The 'patient' is actually a beetle , and the 'backpack'-like device sends electrical pulses to its antennae. The device allows Fitzgerald to control its movements, while exploiting its innate agility.

Researchers in Australia attached "backpacks" to beetles and cockroaches to control their movements. (Source: CNN).

'It's only when it strays from the path we want it to go that we intervene and tell it to go 'right',' said Fitzgerald, who is studying mathematics and engineering.

He hopes to create a ' search and rescue army' of insect-machines.

'After an urban disaster like an earthquake or a bombing, when humans can't safely reach the disaster site, [we] could send a team of cyborg beetles to move to those areas quickly and efficiently,' he said.

According to CNN, the robotics lab where Fitzgerald works is placing its control 'backpacks' on giant burrowing cockroaches - a native Australian species that can grow up to 3 inches (8cm) long, and darkling beetles.

Species of the dark family can be found in environments ranging from tropical savannas to arid deserts around the world. Having to deal with the insects doesn't bother Fitzgerald: 'No, I don't find them creepy at all!' - he said.

According to Fitzgerald, cyborg insects have an advantage over traditional robots. "Insects are much more adaptable than artificial robotic systems, which have to do a lot of calculations to be able to handle all the different situations that can happen in the real world," he explains.

Fitzgerald said cyborg search-and-rescue beetles or cockroaches could help in disaster situations by finding and reporting the location of survivors, and delivering life-saving medication to them before rescuers arrive.

But first, the Australian researchers need to master the ability to 'direct' the insects' movements – something that could 'take some time'. Fitzgerald says that while the work may seem far-fetched now, cyborg insects could save lives in a few decades.

University of Queensland student Lachlan Fitzgerald hopes to one day use the cyborg insect hybrid as a search and rescue "staff." (Source: CNN).

Fitzgerald isn't the only roboticist creating robots from living creatures.

Scientists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) are also implanting electronic pacemakers into jellyfish to control their swimming speed. They hope the bionic jellyfish can help collect data about the deep ocean environment.

Last September, Cornell University researchers introduced robots powered by a king oyster mushroom. These robots sense and respond to their environment by tapping into the electrical signals the fungus produces and its sensitivity to light—which could be used to sense chemical indicators in the soil near plants to help decide when to add fertilizer.

The rise of biohybrid robots has sparked ethical debate, with some researchers advocating for better regulation and oversight.

The Caltech scholars told CNN they worked with bioethicists to ensure their interventions did not trigger any kind of stress response in the jellyfish they were 'collaborating with.'

Fitzgerald said the backpack beetles had a normal lifespan. 'So I don't think they'd mind,' he said. 'Science doesn't know yet whether they're actually conscious beings.'

Fitzgerald agrees that concerns for the creatures are valid, but he stresses the benefits hybrid robots bring: "I think the potential of this technology to save human lives in urban disasters really outweighs any hesitation there might be towards this field . "