The next time an ambitious adventurer gets trapped in a flooded cave, the person who comes to rescue him may not be a human being at all. It could be a mind-controlled cockroach in a diving suit. Sorry, entomophobes.

These cyborgs are already being used in search and rescue operations and pipeline inspections, but so far those efforts have been limited to dry land. That is changing. Researchers at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore 3D printed a flexible diving suit that cockroaches wear like a backpack. A chemical oxygen generator inside creates oxygen when the insect swims underwater and pumps it through tubes connected to the spiracles that the cockroach uses to breathe. In tests, the cyborg cockroach was able to move and breathe underwater for up to three hours. That extra capacity could make the bugs much more viable for longer search and rescue operations.

Over time, this same principle could also be applied to other low-oxygen environments, such as space. In theory, this means that cockroach cosmonauts may not be so far-fetched.

“By placing a cockroach, which is a terrestrial species, in this diving suit, we allowed it to survive and operate in oxygen-deprived environments,” the researchers wrote in the paper. “Transform it into an amphibious cyborg robot capable of operating on land and water.”

The study was published in the journal Nature Communications.

Cyborg cockroach to the rescue

Cyborg insects to the rescue

Scientists have been toying with the idea of ​​remotely controlled insects for more than a decade. Generally, the process works by first anesthetizing the insect and then placing electrodes on its brain and sensory organs. The team can then press a button on a remote control to send a signal and nudge the insect in the direction they want it to go, even when it would normally stop.

This insect mind control is not just mad science. It can serve a much greater purpose. By working with the natural biology of animals, the cyborg insect requires much less computing power to operate, as it does not power the motors and actuators needed for a robot. A cyborg also does not need to carry a large battery, which could also get in the way during a rescue operation. But the cyborg approach doesn’t simply turn the cockroach into a mindless zombie, either. In reality, it is crucial for the cockroach to maintain a certain level of autonomy in order to naturally traverse obstacles and avoid dangerous debris. Basically, the human operator just makes sure you stay on track.

“For example, in a rescue scenario, we only need to stimulate the cockroach to turn in its direction when walking in the opposite direction or move when it stops unexpectedly,” said Osaka University roboticist Keisuke Morishima, who did not participate in the diving suit, describing the technology in 2023.

But cyborgs also have some major disadvantages compared to robots. Perhaps the most obvious is that animals need to breathe oxygen. That severely limits the type of terrain they can access. And in the case of rescue operations (which often involve spaces flooded with water or areas with airborne toxins) that is a pretty significant limitation.

“This is important because real disaster sites can be challenging after heavy rain or flooding, blocking access routes through debris, drains and narrow gaps,” NTU Singapore aerospace engineering professor and study leader Hirotaka Sato said in a statement. “By expanding the operational parameters of our cyborg insects to include underwater travel, we believe they can enhance search and rescue efforts.”

The world’s first anti-cockroach diving suit really works

That’s where the idea of ​​this new bug type diving suit comes into play. The engineering team wanted to design a system that was lightweight and did not require many complex mechanical parts that could slow down the cockroach. For the oxygen tank, they chose to use a sponge coated with a catalyst made of manganese dioxide. The chemical compound can slowly break down when exposed to hydrogen peroxide, which would in turn create oxygen.

The oxygen released into the tank then flows through four silicone supply tubes that connect to the cockroach’s spiracles before the operation. Researchers say the cockroach doesn’t seem to mind carrying its thick backpack, though of course it’s hard to know for sure without actually talking about the insect. But the conversation between cockroaches and humans is a discovery for another day.

The backpack that houses the oxygen tank is made of a 3D-printed plastic-like material that measures just 10 by 10 millimeters, or the size of a small piece of gum. Everything is connected wirelessly to a simple controller, which the human supervisor uses to dictate the cockroach’s movement. To test the suit, the team created a series of tube-shaped obstacle courses (also 3D printed) intended to replicate some of the submerged scenarios the rescue bug might find itself in.

It worked surprisingly well. The cyborg was able to successfully traverse every dangerous zone it faced, and did so at speeds only slightly slower than on the surface. With the diving suit on, the researchers say the cockroach’s survival time in those underwater environments extended from a few minutes to up to three hours.

It should be noted that while the roach was submerged, it was tested in scenarios with only a few centimeters of water. In other words, don’t expect to see cockroaches diving along with a James Cameron expedition anytime soon.

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