Japanese Students Help Push Cyborg Insects Toward Practical Use

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Efforts to put cyborg insects to practical use are beginning to take concrete shape in Japan. These insects are equipped with miniature devices that allow them to be steered at will.

In April, Tamagawa Academy in Machida, Tokyo, established a laboratory for senior high school students interested in technology and launched a collaboration with Professor Hirotaka Sato of Singapore's Nanyang Technological University, a leading authority in the field. The school is now aiming to introduce cyborg insects for use on campus.

In other countries, cyborg insects have already been used in disaster search operations. With potential applications also extending to infrastructure inspection and beyond, attention is now focused on whether Tamagawa Academy's initiative could help pave the way for wider adoption in Japan.

Bureaucratic Reluctance

Cyborg insects are controlled by miniature devices that deliver electrical stimulation to their neuromuscular systems. Because the insects themselves provide the walking or flying, and the power needed for stimulation is negligible, they consume far less energy than small robots. That leaves more battery capacity for cameras, communications gear, and sensors, enabling longer operating times.

Professor Hirotaka Sato's research group has focused on the Madagascar hissing cockroach, a species native to Madagascar. After a major earthquake struck Myanmar in Southeast Asia in March last year, a rescue team dispatched from Singapore brought 10 cyborg insects and used them to help search through collapsed buildings reduced to rubble.

This year marks 15 years since the Great East Japan Earthquake and 10 years since the Kumamoto Earthquake. With fears of future disasters still high—including a major quake directly beneath the Tokyo metropolitan area and a Nankai Trough megaquake—the need for faster rescue tools remains urgent.

In searches inside collapsed buildings, where every second can mean the difference between life and death, cyborg insects could offer one way to speed up operations.

Professor Sato said current small robots still face serious limitations. "Today's compact robots rely on tiny batteries and can operate only for short periods. A breakthrough is needed before they can be used effectively at disaster sites," he said.

His team has already staged demonstrations of cyborg insects in Japan for firefighters and other emergency personnel. But while frontline responders have reacted positively, that support has yet to be enough to move Japan's bureaucracy into action.

Building the Project on Campus

*"Cyborg insect" fitted with the backpack device. (Courtesy of the research team)*

At a time when public institutions have been slow to move, Tamagawa Academy was quick to step forward. Last summer, science teacher Takanori Yazaki visited Singapore on a school program and struck up a rapport with Professor Sato. Later, when Sato visited Tamagawa Academy and spoke to the student body, six senior high school students had signed on to the project by the end of the year.

Looking back, Yazaki said the appeal was clear from the start. "The significance of the project is easy to understand, and it connects well with students. I felt it was something they would be genuinely curious about and eager to take on," he said.

Tamagawa Academy and University's campus is sprawling, covering about 610,000 square meters, and even has its own self-defense fire brigade. The school is exploring possible uses for cyborg insects not only in disaster search operations, but also in everyday applications such as infrastructure inspection.

In March, the students visited the laboratory of Professor Shinjiro Umezu at Waseda University, which collaborates with Professor Sato, to learn how cyborg insects are made, including how to attach the miniature control devices. Building on that training, they have been ramping up their work since April in a newly established lab in Tamagawa Academy's science building.

Students Take the Lead

Hironosuke Takaguchi, a 17-year-old third-year senior high school student who hopes to become a researcher, said the project is a perfect match for his interests. "I've always liked insects. It combines biology and engineering, and I'm really enjoying the work," he said.

Another third-year student, 17-year-old Rinka Yoshihara, has also visited Professor Sato's laboratory in Singapore. "I was deeply impressed by what Professor Sato had to say," she said. "I believe this can be of real use to society, so I want to help make it a reality."

High Hopes for Students' Ideas

On April 13, Professor Sato visited the lab to check on the project's progress. By then, the cyborg insects could already be controlled wirelessly to move forward, backward, left, and right. The next step, planned for May, is to equip them with cameras.

As Tamagawa Academy looks to put the technology to use on campus, the school has also held discussions with its in-house fire brigade and other staff. One point raised was that unless the insects are used routinely in normal times, they may prove difficult to deploy effectively in a real disaster.

Yazaki said some of the most promising ideas may come from the students themselves. "When it comes to practical applications, the students may come up with something truly interesting," he said. "Their ideas will be different from those of adults, and there could be real synergy if Professor Sato helps turn those ideas into reality."

Nor does the insect itself have to be the Madagascar hissing cockroach. If students begin experimenting with species found closer to home, that too could mark a new step forward.

The group hopes to present its work at an academic conference this autumn. Watching the discussion, Tamagawa Academy principal Kakuhiro Nakanishi expressed hope for more than just technical progress. "I want them to take this as far as they can," he said. "I also hope the project will help them develop the habit of identifying challenges for themselves and finding ways to solve them."