Dr Sue Jaggar & Dr Khadijah Saad, UNE Discovery

Researchers from Nanyang Technological University Singapore successfully turned cockroaches into cyborg roaches. These cyborg roaches are fitted with a ‘backpack’ – a portable stimulation and communication electronics device.

While it sounds super cute – a cockroach with a BACKPACK! this electronic backpack enables users to influence the cockroach’s direction, by stimulating the antenna.

How was the backpack fitted on each cockroach? They exposed these cockroaches with carbon dioxide gas to make them dormant and then fitted the backpack using a special machine.

How is this going to benefit us?
On 28 March 2025, a Mw 7.7 – 7.9 earthquake struck the Sagaing Region of Myanmar. Ten Madagascar hissing cockroaches were deployed first time ever on the 31 March 2025, with their cute tiny backpacks, to help with detecting survivors. Their backpacks contained infrared cameras and sensors to detect human heat. With their tiny bodies (6cm), they were able to navigate very narrow spaces under the rubble which could not be covered by human or canine rescuers.  Cockroaches are incredibly skilled in moving across different landscapes and can even climb walls.  They have their own enhanced sense of smell and touch, which is very useful in detecting chemicals, gases, and even human beings.

They did not find any survivors this time, but they managed to map the areas, which was very useful for the rescue mission.

Where are these cyborg cockroaches now?
They’re back in Singapore with their handlers, doing well and being fed carrots and water.

Sources:

Cockroaches turned into cyborgs in 68 secs with new automated machine

Myanmar earthquake: Singapore deploys cyborg cockroaches in rescue efforts | South China Morning Post