Originally appeared at The Daily Sheeple

While the proliferation of flying drones has been widely reported by the media in recent years, it's important to remember that quadcopters are just the tip of the iceberg. This technology can and will develop in strange and unexpected ways, and in the future, these devices won't just fly. They will crawl, swim and climb while disguised as innocuous creatures and objects.

The most recent invention in that category, is a cockroach shaped robot that was unveiled by Russian scientists earlier today. The device is about 4 inches long and can scurry around on the ground at 12 inches per second. It contains photosensitive and obstacle tracking sensors, and can operate for 20 minutes on a single charge. The researchers based the robot's design on the Blaberus Giganteus cockroach from South America, and studied real cockroaches during its development.

The researchers say that the device will be useful for emergency services and search and rescue operations, but one must wonder why making it look like a cockroach would be necessary for that application. It turns out that they are planning to submit the device to the Russian military, which was probably their original intention. It will be able to carry a 10 gram payload, which is just enough for a miniature camera, and would make it an excellent spy robot. Or at least the potential is there. They just need to make it a tad smaller. You can see this critter in action below.