Cyborg Cockroaches with Diving Suits Could Aid Underwater Search-and-Rescue
Hirotaka Sato, an engineer from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, has designed an innovative diving suit for Madagascar hissing cockroaches. This suit enables the insects to remain submerged for as long as three hours, employing sophisticated electronic implants. Details of this breakthrough were published in Nature Communications on June 29, building on prior research involving remotely controlled insects. The suit, featuring a 3D-printed oxygen generator, has been tested for adaptability, allowing the cockroaches to dive and withstand drops from heights of 3.2 feet. Sato envisions using these suits for space exploration, potentially even for Mars missions.
Key facts
- Diving suit allows Madagascar hissing cockroaches to survive underwater up to three hours.
- Technology described in Nature Communications on June 29.
- Led by engineer Hirotaka Sato at Nanyang Technological University.
- Suit uses hydrogen peroxide and manganese dioxide to generate oxygen.
- Tests included immersion, bending, and drop tests from 3.2 feet.
- Cockroaches can move at water depth of 20 inches.
- Previous deployment after Myanmar earthquake (7.7 magnitude, 3,600+ dead) failed to find survivors.
- Sato holds Guinness World Record for first untethered controlled flight by a cyborg beetle.
- Team plans to test suits in Mars-like conditions and expand to other species.
- Alan Winfield notes cyborg insects have advantages over small robots due to battery limitations.
Entities
Institutions
- Nanyang Technological University
- Nature Communications
- Financial Times
- New Scientist
- University of the West of England
- Guinness World Records
Locations
- Singapore
- Myanmar
- Mars