Australian researchers have developed remotely controlled cyborg cockroaches that could eventually deliver emergency medicine to people trapped after earthquakes, building collapses, and other disasters.

Scientists from the University of Queensland and University of New South Wales equipped giant burrowing cockroaches with cameras, miniature injection systems, and electrodes that allow operators to steer them.

Laboratory tests recorded a 72% overall drug-delivery success rate, rising as high as 95% when injections were attempted within 15 centimetres of a target.

Researchers say the insects could reach spaces inaccessible to conventional robots, although further testing is required to address communication failures, difficult terrain, and medical safety before real-world deployment.