Céline Geraud 9:29 a.m., September 19, 2022, modified at 9:29 a.m., September 19, 2022
Researchers from the Riken Institute in Japan are experimenting with a new method of rescuing victims of natural disasters using cockroaches.
The idea is to teleguide cockroaches equipped with super sensors through the rubble.
These cyborg cockroaches could also participate in spy missions!
What if cockroaches had the power to save our lives?
Researchers at the Riken Institute in Japan are looking at giant cockroaches in Madagascar to help them spot victims of natural disasters.
Powered by solar energy, the cyborg cockroach could squeeze through the rubble by being remotely guided by super sensors connected to the sensory areas of its abdomen.
"They will put electronics on the insect's back, thorax and abdomen, flexible so as not to disturb the animal's locomotion either. Being able to supply electronics to an insect from “A very small miniature solar panel is quite remarkable”, explains Stéphane Viollet, research director at the CNRS and at the Institute of Movement Sciences in Marseille, at the microphone of Europe 1.
For future spy missions?
This technological prowess nevertheless raises the question of the ethics around these augmented animals to serve human interests: "I have always been skeptical about this work because I find it useless the process of piloting animals without learning anything. or on their operation. But here, it is true that a milestone has been crossed because there may indeed be emergency applications that can save lives", continues the researcher.
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More agile and more discreet than conventional robots, this device could also participate in spy missions.
So, if you come across a cockroach with a backpack, be careful!