Researchers atNorth Carolina State University have figured out how to make cyborg cockroaches -- or biobots, as they call them -- pick up sound and seek out its source. So one day, the first responders to a rubble-filled disaster scene might be rescue roaches.

Cyborg cockroaches aren't new: They came on the scene a few years ago, with DIY enthusiasts jumping to create their own remote-controlled bugs. It's not all that difficult to perform the necessary surgery and hook a roach up to a computerized backpack.

But while some people find it fun to steer a cockroach around, the obvious application is in search-and-rescue: Cockroaches are tiny and resilient, perfect for getting through the nooks and crannies of a disaster zone. If rescue workers can control them and have them carry mics and cameras, they can be used to track down survivors.

This work, published in IEEE Sensors, is a great step in that direction. The researchers equipped their latest biobots with an array of microphones, which together can detect the direction of a sound and steer the biobot toward it.

Right now, the microphones pick up any sound at all -- whether or not it's important. The next step is teaching the system to pick out important noises, like human voices. There's a long way to go, but rescue roaches are certainly on the horizon. Maybe one day we'll associate the bugs with hope instead of dirty bathrooms.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has reportedly filled a complaint against the makers of the RoboRoach kit, which allows users to control the movement of a cockroach via a smartphone app by microstimulation of its antenna nerves. (YouTube/Backyard Brains)

Rachel Feltman runs The Post's Speaking of Science blog.

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Cyborg cockroaches can hear you call and scurry to the rescue