Robo-roach controlled by people scuttles into reality

They lurk in dark corners, feed off crumbs - and obey the commands of their human overlords.

Years in the making, and a contender for the most revolting creation to emerge from a laboratory, the robo-roach has arrived.

Built by engineers in Texas, the robotic insect is a live cockroach with a miniature computer that is fused to the animal's nervous system. At the push of a button, a human operator can control the beast. Or, at least, which way it scuttles.

Hong Liang, who led the research at Texas A&M University, said the controllable insect could carry tiny video cameras, microphones and other sensors. With those on board, it could gather information from places where humans would rather not be - collapsed buildings, broken sewers, and the kitchens in student house shares.

"Insects can do things a robot cannot. They can go into small places, sense the environment, and if there's movement, from a predator say, they can escape much better than a system designed by a human," Liang said. "We wanted to find ways to work with them."

The US team made tiny backpacks for the cockroaches which contained a computer chip to send signals down a pair of fine wires into nerves that controlled legs on either side of the cockroach. With a rechargeable lithium battery to power the device, the total weight of the backpack was less than three grams.