German startup SWARM Biotactics just secured €13 million in funding to turn live Madagascar hissing cockroaches into AI-powered spy robots equipped with miniature backpacks containing cameras, sensors, and neural stimulators that allow remote control for covert surveillance missions. The Kassel-based company represents the world's first commercial effort to create "biologically integrated, AI-enabled, and mass-deployable systems" that can infiltrate environments where traditional drones and ground robots completely fail.⁠
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CEO Stefan Wilhelm revealed that each cockroach carries a lightweight backpack weighing up to 3 grams that includes tiny cameras for real-time reconnaissance, environmental sensors to detect gas or radiation, and neural stimulators that send electrical impulses to the insect's nervous system to control movement. The technology allows military operators to guide individual cockroaches through rubble, tight spaces, or hostile territories, or deploy entire swarms that operate autonomously using artificial intelligence coordination.⁠
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The breakthrough addresses fundamental limitations of conventional surveillance technology in cluttered, GPS-denied environments like urban combat zones, collapsed buildings, or disaster areas. Unlike mechanical robots that require significant power and sophisticated navigation systems, cockroaches naturally excel at navigating complex terrain while requiring zero energy input for locomotion, making them ideal biological platforms for persistent intelligence gathering.⁠
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These living surveillance systems could provide unprecedented tactical advantages in scenarios where conventional technology proves inadequate or too conspicuous for effective intelligence gathering.