Source: The Register: Biting the hand that feeds
Researchers are weaponizing cockroaches' natural ability to navigate rubble by implanting neural interface chips and mounting drug-delivery systems on their exoskeletons, creating autonomous search-and-rescue units that can access confined spaces humans cannot. The approach solves a genuine problem: emergency responders need a delivery mechanism that's small, expendable, and can traverse collapsed structures to reach trapped victims. It sidesteps both the regulatory requirements of full robotics and the limitations of drones, though it raises uncomfortable questions about insect sentience and the blurriness between tool and autonomous creature.