Cockroaches: Friend or Foe

Most people think of cockroaches as disgusting little creatures that infest dark dirty places. Its never nice to come across one, reactions range from annoyance to katsaridaphobia an outright fear of these insects.

However, researchers in Singapore may have just turned this pest into a future hero. Scientists have attached a computerised ‘backpack’ with a camera that could be steered remotely for search and rescue missions.

Created by Nanyang Technological University a small computer chip, fitted with an infrared camera, carbon dioxide sensor and a temperature/humidity sensor as well as other functions.

The backpack fits on to the Madagascar Hissing cockroach and during lab trials the cockroach was successfully used to find humans in a simulated disaster scene.