Scientists in Singapore and Japan build cyborg cockroach diving suits
Scientists in Singapore and Japan have built tiny "diving suits" for cyborg cockroaches, letting them survive underwater for up to three hours.
These high-tech bugs get air from mini oxygen generators connected straight to their breathing holes, so they can handle flooded or low-oxygen places, opening up cool new uses for biohybrid insects (think: real bugs with remote-control tech).
Chemical oxygen chamber enables underwater mobility
The suit has a waterproof shell, a 3D-printed oxygen chamber, and silicone tubes that deliver air made from a simple chemical reaction: no bulky tanks needed.
Tests showed the cockroaches could move around just fine underwater.
According to project leader Prof. Hirotaka Sato, this means these cyborgs could help out in search-and-rescue missions or disaster site inspections.
Next up: making the suits tougher and fitting them onto other insect species.
The research just dropped in Nature Communications.