A group of NC State University scientists developed biobots that pick up and seek out sounds via a mini microphone.

If you're trapped under the rubble of a collapsed building, the last thing you want to see is a swarm of cockroaches headed your way. But thanks to a group of North Carolina State University researchers, those creepy crawlies could just save your life.

The scientists have developed a technology allowing cyborg cockroaches, or biobots, to pick up and seek out sounds with a miniscule microphone, meant to help emergency personnel in the aftermath of a disaster.

Led by Dr. Alper Bozkurt, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at NC State, the project equips biobots with one of two electronic backpacks about the size of a quarter, which control the roach's movements.

"The goal is to use the biobots with high-resolution microphones to differentiate between sounds that matterlike people calling for helpfrom sounds that don't matterlike a leaking pipe," Bozkurt said. "Once we've identified sounds that matter, we can use the biobots equipped with microphone arrays to zero in on where those sounds are coming from."

One type carries a single microphone to capture relatively high-resolution sound for any direction, which is then wirelessly transmitted to first responders. The other comes with three directional mics, detecting the direction of the sound.

The research team is then able to analyze the sounds, localize the source, and steer the biobots into that direction.

"In a collapsed building, sound is the best way to find survivors," Dr. Alper Bozkurt, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at NC State, said in a statement.

With the help of fellow NC State assistant professor Dr. Edgar Lobaton and Dr. Mihail Sichitiu, Bozkurt's team also developed a sort of invisible fence to keep biobots within range of each other at a disaster site. It also allows users to steer the roaches toward light sources to recharge the solar panels on their backpacks.

Watch the biobots in action in the video below.

View original post here:

Cyborg Cockroaches Could Save Your Life