New Scientist Tech - Breaking News - Robo-roach could betray real cockroaches

A matchbox-sized robot that can infiltrate a pack of cockroaches and influence their collective behaviour has been developed by European scientists.

The tiny robot smells and acts just like a roach, fooling the real insects into accepting it as one of their own. Through its behaviour, the robot can persuade a group of cockroaches to venture out into the light despite their normal preference for the dark, for example.

The researchers behind the robot believe it could be used to catch cockroaches and that bots designed to mimic other animals could one day work on farms controlling flocks of sheep and chickens by similar means.

I'd love to see a robot that can give commands to a dog -- or to train it.

The sheep idea is pretty bad. Sheep dogs are dirt cheap.