You might actually be happy to see this cyborg cockroach


Cockroaches are disgusting creatures, and the idea of encountering a cybernetic roach is mildly terrifying. But the cyborg roach developed by North Carolina State University might save your life if you are trapped in a collapsed building. These remote-controlled "biobots" are outfitted with sensitive microphones — either one facing forward or three facing different directions — with the goal of finding people trapped in tight spaces.
The idea behind outfitting the cockroaches with high-resolution microphones is "to differentiate between sounds that matter — like people calling for help — from sounds that don't matter, like a leaking pipe," says lead researcher Alper Bozkurt. How do you control these indestructible critters? With a tiny computerized backpack wired into the roach's nervous system. You can watch the cyborg roach in action below. Up next from Bozkurt: Cyborg moths. --Peter Weber
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Israeli NGOs have started referring to Gaza as a 'genocide' — will it matter?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION For the first time since fighting began in 2023, two Israeli rights groups have described their country's actions in the Gaza Strip as 'genocide' as famine threatens the blockaded Palestinian territory
-
6 classic homes built in the 1950s
Feature Featuring a firehouse-turned-home in Indiana and an award-winning house in Maryland
-
Why is the Democratic Party's favorability rating so low?
Talking Points Voters do not like Republican policies. They like Democrats even less.
-
Nvidia hits $4 trillion milestone
Speed Read The success of the chipmaker has been buoyed by demand for artificial intelligence
-
X CEO Yaccarino quits after two years
Speed Read Elon Musk hired Linda Yaccarino to run X in 2023
-
Musk chatbot Grok praises Hitler on X
Speed Read Grok made antisemitic comments and referred to itself as 'MechaHitler'
-
Amazon's robotaxi looks to be Waymo's biggest competitor
In the Spotlight The company recently opened a new robotaxi production plant in California
-
Disney, Universal sue AI firm over 'plagiarism'
Speed Read The studios say that Midjourney copied characters from their most famous franchises
-
Secret AI experiment on Reddit accused of ethical violations
In the Spotlight Critics say the researchers flouted experimental ethics
-
Amazon launches 1st Kuiper internet satellites
Speed Read The battle of billionaires continues in space
-
Test flight of orbital rocket from Europe explodes
Speed Read Isar Aerospace conducted the first test flight of the Spectrum orbital rocket, which crashed after takeoff