How can we accelerate search and rescue efforts in disaster zones, especially for the first 48 hours which are the most crucial? Scientists from NTU led by Professor Hirotaka Sato have been working with Home Team Science and Technology Agency in Singapore – HTX to develop cyborg insects that can help to detect signs of life autonomously.

Professor Sato has been working on cyber-insects for 15 years and was the first to demonstrate control of a flying cyborg beetle. Now, instead of controlling the insects’ movements by remote control, he has found a way to turn them into autonomous cyborgs, through an electronic backpack with sensors that can detect life signs such as movement, carbon dioxide emissions and heat signatures in rubble.