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Friday, March 11, 2011

Robotic Kit Lets You Control c**kroaches, WTF!

treehugger.com
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California

roboroach kit image
Image via YouTube video



Um, PETA? You might have a problem with this. It's a DIY kit that turns the average cockroach into a remote controlled toy. No kidding. Remember that whole flying cyborg beetle thing we told you about a couple years ago? Well, apparently the technology (er, sort of) is making its way into bug-infested living rooms.


roboroach kit image
I don't have anything against cockroaches -- I think they're amazing creatures. So to see one being remote controlled like this was actually a bit disturbing. So you can only imagine how the most serious animal activists among us might feel.



The kit comes from Backyard Brains, and it's a fairly simple set-up. The armor you put on the bug sends electrical pulses to the antennae nerves of the roach, which tells it to turn either left of right.
Apparently it only works on about 25% of roaches -- they must be smarter than we think. Once Backyard Brains get this kink worked out, they'll launch the device into beta mode. That is, unless PETA says something about it first.

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