Meet Japan's Cyborg Cockroach, Coming To Disaster Area

25 September 2022 09:18 WIB

A Madagascar hissing cockroach, mounted with a "backpack" of electronics and a solar cell that enable remote control of its movement, is pictured during a photo opportunity at the Thin-Film Device Laboratory of Japanese research institution Riken in Wako, Saitama Prefecture, Japan September 16, 2022. If an earthquake strikes in the not too distant future and survivors are trapped under tonnes of rubble, the first responders to locate them could be swarms of cyborg cockroaches. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

24 September 2022 00:00 WIB

Researcher Yujiro Kakei connects a solar cell to a "backpack" of electronics mounted on a Madagascar hissing cockroach during a photo opportunity at the Thin-Film Device Laboratory of Japanese research institution Riken in Wako, Saitama Prefecture, Japan September 16, 2022. That's a potential application of a recent breakthrough by Japanese researchers who demonstrated the ability to mount "backpacks" of solar cells and electronics on the bugs and control their motion by remote control. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

24 September 2022 00:00 WIB

A researcher shows a Madagascar hissing cockroach, mounted with a "backpack" of electronics and a solar cell that enable remote control of its movement, during a photo opportunity at the Thin-Film Device Laboratory of Japanese research institution Riken in Wako, Saitama Prefecture, Japan September 16, 2022. The film allows the roach to move freely while the solar cell generates enough power to process and send directional signals into sensory organs on the bug's hindquarters. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

24 September 2022 00:00 WIB

A Madagascar hissing cockroach, mounted with a "backpack" of electronics and a solar cell that enable remote control of its movement, traverses an obstacle during a photo opportunity at the Thin-Film Device Laboratory of Japanese research institution Riken in Wako, Saitama Prefecture, Japan September 16, 2022. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

24 September 2022 00:00 WIB

A Madagascar hissing cockroach, mounted with a "backpack" of electronics and a solar cell, is pictured with a remote control broadcast device during a photo opportunity at the Thin-Film Device Laboratory of Japanese research institution Riken in Wako, Saitama Prefecture, Japan September 16, 2022. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

24 September 2022 00:00 WIB

A Madagascar hissing cockroach, mounted with a "backpack" of electronics and a solar cell that enable remote control of its movement, is pictured with other Madagascar hissing cockroaches during a photo opportunity at the Thin-Film Device Laboratory of Japanese research institution Riken in Wako, Saitama Prefecture, Japan September 16, 2022. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

24 September 2022 00:00 WIB