A team of researchers at Tel Aviv University in Israel has taken a different path and created a bio-hybrid robot that "hears" through the ear of a dead locust, a type of grasshopper.

In a scientific breakthrough, Israeli researchers recently connected a dead locust’s ear to a robot that receives the ear’s electrical signals and responds accordingly. The result: a robot that moves ...

For the new study, the Tel Aviv researchers connected a biological sensor – a locust’s ear – to a robot in place of its usual microphone, allowing it to respond to sounds.

This system helps Ear-bot both detect and respond to vibrational sounds like hand claps. A short video from the Tel Aviv University shows the robot in action.