Overview
- A team from Nanyang Technological University and Waseda University led by Professor Hirotaka Sato published a peer‑reviewed proof‑of‑concept in Nature Communications on June 29 showing the new diving suit can enable underwater operation.
- The 10×10 mm flexible 3D‑printed shell houses a sponge coated with manganese dioxide; researchers inject diluted hydrogen peroxide to drive a chemical reaction that releases oxygen and sends it through four silicone tubes to the cockroach’s spiracles.
- In laboratory tests on Madagascar hissing cockroaches, suit‑equipped insects remained active underwater for two to three hours and moved at speeds only slightly slower than on land while navigating flooded obstacle courses.
- The system remains experimental: demonstrations were limited to shallow, simulated environments and researchers say they must improve durability, add sensors and navigation, and validate safety and field performance before real disaster use.
- The work builds on a decade of NTU cyborg‑insect research and prior field deployments, and it could let lightweight biohybrid agents reach trapped people in flooded voids or inspect submerged pipes if engineering and regulatory hurdles are cleared.