Japanese Researchers Designed Cyborg Cockroaches To Do Small Tasks In Homes

How do you feel about roaches infestation, but they help with your housework? Well, researchers of Digital Nature Group from the University of Tsukuba are finally getting around to making ‘Calmbots.’ These ‘bots’ are actually cockroaches that are injected with computing systems.

Basically, very small cyborgs with six legs with the ability to pass over the butter or sugar at home.

Yes, the Japanese did it again, for real.

Digital Nature aims to ‘provide more various alternatives of future between Human and Machines, Material World and Virtual World than industrial era.’ They are also focused on the ‘application of computational researches between Humanity and Machines, Materiality and Virtuality.’

The group also explained, “We propose “Calmbots” that is a novel user interface utilizing insects’ capabilities such as mobility, self-maintenance, and hiding.”

These are Madagascar cockroaches, and they are controlled with electrical stimulation. The rest is done by the insects – by attaching a pen, you can make them draw things. By attaching other parts, you can also make it help you push things around.

The idea is to have these little bugs do jobs in the background, cleaning up and moving things while we’re not looking. There will definitely be future implications with this research in the future, perhaps on things bigger than cockroaches.

Of course, people are comparing this to Aburame Shino’s character from the anime ‘Naruto.’