I was going to use “cockbot” in the headline but restrained myself, as there is a group of very serious scientists working on this:

The main part of LEURRE will deal with experiments blending together cockroaches and small insect-like robots, the LEURRE insbots. The main goal is to demonstrate that it is possible to mix insects and specifically designed robots that interact and communicate. We will then show that the lure robots allow the control of the global behavior of a mixed-society.

Behaviour control through the use of robot mimics?

Environment protection, animal welfare or animal feed safety and economic growth need to be reconciled. This reconciliation requires greater understanding of the environment and the living organisms and development of information sciences. Improving the way natural resources are managed is an important investment in Europe’s future. We need to understand biological systems better.

In the context of the control and the management of animal natural resources, the importance of the behavioral and social levels are often underestimate. LEURRE will show how these knowledge can be implemented and what are the methodology, the tools and technologies we need. Together with the conceptual knowledge developed in the project, social environmental organisers could use behavioral control to direct desired collective response.

So in the future, if you see a particulary hot person in a crowd influencing others, give them a pinch.