If the thought of a cockroach scuttling around on the floor is enough to make the hair on the back of your neck stand on end, then youd better steer clear of this weeks TEDGlobal conference taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Then again, what neuroscientist Greg Gage has up his sleeve (not a cockroach, by the way) may intrigue you to such a degree that you might actually be able to stand the sight of that pesky little critter trotting about.

The thing is, Gage will be controlling the insect with a smartphone. If only it were that simply with all cockroaches, then we could simply steer them straight into the yard and up the street, never to be seen again.

The theme of the Edinburgh conference, which kicked off in the Scottish capital on Monday, is think again, with Gage set to take to the stage with his so-called RoboRoach on Wednesday.

Gage told the BBC that during his presentation he plans to attach a small electronic backpack to his pet roach under anesthetic (thats the roach, not Gage), a backpack that apparently communicates directly with the neurons in the cockroachs antenna.

The neurons communicate information to the roachs brain using electricity, enabling Gage to control the movements of the cockroach cyborg with a smartphone or some such device.

But before you begin to wonder if Gage is one whisker short of a full beard, best to hear him out.

This is not just a gimmick, he told the BBC. The technique is the same as that used to treat Parkinsons disease and in cochlear implants. The point of the project is to create a tool to learn about how our brain works. On the TED website Gage says he wants to show how brains receive and deliver electric impulses.

OK, its starting to make sense now.

Excerpt from:

Your Very Own Cyborg Roach