Cyborg cockroaches dive underwater for up to three hours

cyborg cockroaches – Scientists say they’ve built “cyborg” Madagascar hissing cockroaches by fitting them with a diving suit carrying oxygen tubes and a protective shell. The upgraded insects can survive and operate in oxygen-deprived underwater conditions for as long as three hou

For years, flooded places have turned into a kind of no-man’s-land for responders: water blocks roads, debris funnels movement, and every attempt to search can put people in danger. Now a team of researchers is betting on an unlikely diver—one that already knows how to move through tight spaces.

In a study published on Monday in Nature Communications. the researchers describe how they transformed Madagascar hissing cockroaches into amphibious “cyborg” robots capable of diving underwater for as much as three hours at a time. The insects are one of the largest cockroach species in the world. and the modification is designed to keep them running when oxygen isn’t available the way it is on land.

The work centers on a “diving suit” fitted to the cockroaches. It includes oxygen tubes and a protective shell, with the oxygen delivery system built to mimic scuba gear. The oxygen tubes attach to the cockroaches’ thoracic spiracles—the breathing holes on their bodies—using a regulator-like setup. With the suit in place, the authors write, the cockroach can survive and operate in oxygen-deprived environments such as underwater.

“By fitting a cockroach, which is a terrestrial species, into this diving suit, we allowed it to survive and operate in oxygen-deprived environments such as underwater, transforming it into an amphibious cyborg robot capable of operation across land and water,” the authors write in the study.

The researchers argue that the cockroaches’ size and low energy demands could make them useful for reaching places humans can’t safely access. They point to the inside of pipelines as one potential target—an area where access is difficult even without flooding. In disaster settings. flooded areas are the obvious driver of urgency: when water and debris block roads and other access routes. investigators and rescuers often struggle to get eyes where they’re needed.

Cockroaches. the authors say. are among the “most promising” insects for this kind of task because of their “robustness.” Madagascar hissing cockroaches can grow to be as large as about 7.5 centimeters—about the length of an adult human’s finger—and they can live up to five years. Those traits, paired with the suit, are meant to translate into a practical tool rather than a one-off experiment.

The study also frames the technology as something that could expand beyond a single species. The authors write that the approach could one day be applied to other insects, including locusts and beetles.

For Hirotaka Sato, the senior author on the paper and a professor in the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, the point is clear: expanding how long cyborg insects can operate underwater could change what rescue teams are able to search.

“By expanding the operating parameters of our cyborg insects to include underwater travel. we believe that they can enhance search and rescue efforts. ” Sato said in a statement. He linked the need to the reality of disaster sites—particularly flooded areas—where navigation can be hard or dangerous for humans.

The “cyborg” cockroach experiment lands at a moment when underwater access is both a safety problem and a logistical problem. With the ability to function for up to three hours beneath the surface. the team’s diving-suit design turns a familiar urban insect into a compact. low-power tool—one that could eventually help responders get where they can’t go safely. and see what humans might otherwise miss.

cyborg cockroaches Madagascar hissing cockroach Nature Communications underwater robot diving suit thoracic spiracles search and rescue flooded areas Nanyang Technological University