---
title: "Army of Backpack-Wearing Cyborg Cockroaches Swarm Desert Target"
description: "Autoroaches, Roll Out Researchers at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore have unleashed an army of remote-controlled cyborg cockroaches to swarm a target in a sandy test area. The motivation behind the creepy-crawling offensive was to see whether such a swarm could eventually be deployed by a larger robot to take sensor readings or hunt […]"
date: "2024-04-16"
modified: "2024-04-16"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/cyborg-cockroaches-swarm-desert"
categories:
  - "Robots and Machines"
tags:
  - "cockroaches"
  - "cyborgs"
  - "swarm robotics"
  - "the digest"
---

# Army of Backpack-Wearing Cyborg Cockroaches Swarm Desert Target

![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/cyborg-cockroaches-swarm-desert.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Sato et al. via New Scientist\</em\>*

## Autoroaches, Roll Out

Researchers at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore have unleashed an army of remote-controlled cyborg cockroaches to swarm a target in a sandy test area.

The motivation behind the creepy-crawling offensive was to see whether such a swarm could eventually be deployed by a larger robot to take sensor readings, hunt down specific objects, or even recover humans trapped in rubble, [*New Scientist* reports](<https://www.newscientist.com/article/2424745-watch-a-swarm-of-cyborg-cockroaches-controlled-by-computers/>).

In a series of experiments, as detailed in a [yet-to-be-peer-reviewed paper](<https://arxiv.org/abs/2403.17392>), researchers equipped Madagascar hissing cockroaches with "backpacks," allowing them to remotely control the creatures via a central computer. These backpacks relayed commands, which were issued via electrodes on each side of the cockroaches' sensory organs, telling them which direction to go.

The scientists found that they were able to control a swarm of 20 cyborg roaches, making them travel as if they were a single insect infantry unit across a sandy hill — a slightly terrifying vision of what search-and-rescue missions could one day look like.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th1bLBuLdc4

## Crab Mode

During the experiments, the central computer's software assigned a number of the cockroaches as leaders that the others followed.

While the roaches were nudged towards either the left or right, they still could find their usual ways around obstacles, *New Scientist* reports. In some instances, they even helped comrades who had rolled onto their backs, flipping them back onto their six feet.

The researchers suggest that such a swarm could aid during search-and-rescue missions following natural disasters or take environmental readings across larger areas. A central robot could provide a way for them to recharge their backpacks, as well as providing food and water.

The team is already looking to take things up a notch by turning rainbow crabs into cyborgs as well.

"The crab can help the cockroaches," team lead and Nanyang Technological University mechanical engineering professor Hirotaka Sato told *New Scientist*. "We are working on such kinds of things, but it takes time."

**More on cyborg insects:** *[Inventor of Cyborg Cockroach Says It Will Only Be Used for Good](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/inventor-cyborg-cockroaches-rationale>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)