When it feels threatened, it squeaks out a hiss by quickly passing air through holes in its back.
The result is something resembling the rattle of a snake’s tail.
Pressing a button sends a shock to the backpack that tricks the roach into moving a certain direction.
If you’re freaked out, let me explain.
Rise of the robo-roach
Cockroach cyborgs are not a new idea.
One on the left, one on the right.
But to send and receive signals, it’s crucial that you power the backpack.
The team at Riken crafted the system to be solar-powered and rechargeable.
That was the first step.
This helped them decide on a module about 17 times thinner than a human hair.
Then, the fun part (I assume): Remote control of the insects.
it’s possible for you to see that above.
And, for now, that’s as far as they’ve got.
If cameras were able to be used, they would likely be very low resolution.
Beetles and cicadas are potential candidates.
Insect robots are having a bit of a moment.
But those spiders were dead.
The roaches aren’t.
Or something like it, perhaps.
Fortunately, “according to research related to insects, cockroaches do not experience pain,” said Fukuda.
