{"id":32755,"date":"2026-03-02T02:46:36","date_gmt":"2026-03-01T18:46:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=32755"},"modified":"2026-03-02T02:46:36","modified_gmt":"2026-03-01T18:46:36","slug":"insect-inspectors-ntu-developing-cyborg-cockroaches-to-check-utility-pipes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=32755","title":{"rendered":"Insect inspectors: NTU developing cyborg cockroaches to check utility pipes"},"content":{"rendered":"


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SINGAPORE – Deep underground, a cockroach scurries through the dark and damp underside of a utility pipe.<\/p>\n

The Madagascar hissing cockroach is on a mission to check for corrosion and leakage.<\/p>\n

Developed by a team of researchers from Nanyang Technological University (NTU), these insects are part of a new pilot project aimed at revolutionising the maintenance of utility pipelines.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

The project, which has been in development since early 2025, is currently being tested in a simulated environment modelled after pipes along the MCE.<\/p>\n

Each cockroach is manually fitted with a small plastic \u201ccarriage\u201d that houses an on-board processor and an electronic circuit board, which contains an upward-facing colour video camera, an LED lightbulb, and a communication module for location tracking and data transmission.<\/p>\n

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The Madagascar hissing cockroaches are fitted with a small plastic \u201ccarriage\u201d that houses an on-board processor and an electronic circuit board. The insect tows the wheeled cart along the underside of utility pipelines to check for defects.<\/p>\n

ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On average, an adult Madagascar cockroach is 6cm long \u2013 2cm longer than the local variety.<\/p>\n

Electrodes attached to the insects\u2019 antennae and rear deliver weak pulses that simulate the feeling of bumping into an obstacle, allowing researchers to seamlessly steer the cockroaches along a desired path.<\/p>\n

The inspection process is automated and relies on a machine-learning algorithm to recognise specific types of pipe defects. When defects are detected, a human operator is alerted.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The goal is to eventually deploy these cockroaches into the real-world environment. But there are some obstacles to overcome first.<\/p>\n

Professor\u00a0Hirotaka Sato from NTU\u2019s School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, the lead researcher for the project, said: \u201cActual pipe environments may be darker and wetter, with possible water accumulation, compared with controlled testing conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pilot projects follows the successful deployment of 10 cyborg cockroaches in <\/p>\n

search-and-rescue efforts during the 2025 Myanmar earthquake.<\/p>\n

<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

That project was handled by Prof Sato\u2019s team in partnership with Singapore\u2019s Home Team Science and Technology Agency and engineering firm Klass Engineering and Solutions.<\/p>\n

The equipment then \u2013 infrared cameras and sensors \u2013 was designed to be extremely compact, allowing the cockroaches to navigate through collapsed structures and confined spaces to search for survivors.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In contrast, Prof Sato said \u201cinfrastructure inspection takes place in more structured environments\u201d, which are more generally defined and have predictable terrain.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis allows us to trade some degree of compactness and agility for improved sensing capability and system stability,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n

The tow cart was thus designed,\u00a0increasing load capacity and allowing for more stable imaging and sensing hardware. <\/p>\n

Prof Sato said the new model reduces physical strain on the insect, which improves endurance and overall operational stability during infrastructure inspection.<\/p>\n

The team is now developing both the rescue and inspection models simultaneously. The move into infrastructure inspection came about when they saw an opportunity to adapt their research for a real-world use case.<\/p>\n

\u201cRegular inspection helps detect issues early, so that repair or replacement works can be carried out before more serious damage or disruption occurs,\u201d he noted.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Highlighting their small size, Prof Sato said cyborg insects are well suited to \u201caccess tight spaces and crevices where humans cannot easily operate, making them useful in diverse environments\u201d.<\/p>\n

The team is currently in discussion with government agencies regarding the application of such technology in real-world infrastructure inspection. <\/p>\n

Singapore has a 6,000km water pipeline network, which supplies potable water to around 1.7 million households and businesses daily.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Universities in Denmark, China and the United States have also been developing robots for pipeline inspection. One such project, led by a team at China\u2019s Guangxi University, successfully prototyped a soft, bionic inchworm robot that crawls through pipelines using magnetic force in 2025.<\/p>\n

Though the cyborg cockroach is currently designed for utility pipelines, Prof Sato said the machine-learning algorithm involved can be adapted to look for other types of defects in other infrastructure, such as telecommunication and electrical cables. <\/p>\n

Should this technology prove successful in real-world applications here, he is confident about the project\u2019s global scalability, stressing that the concept is particularly relevant for other countries grappling with ageing underground infrastructure.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cDifferences in pipe materials and layouts may influence how the system is adapted, but the core capability remains applicable.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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SINGAPORE – Deep underground, a cockroach scurries through the dark and damp underside of a utility pipe. The Madagascar hissing cockroach is on a mission…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32756,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2611],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32755","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buzz-headlines","wpcat-2611-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32755","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=32755"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32755\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/32756"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=32755"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=32755"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=32755"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}