Scientists with a high tolerance for creepy-crawlies have figured out how to create and control cyborg cockroaches.<\/p>\n
How would you like to see this scooting across your kitchen floor? <\/p>\n
If Borg ships have vermin on them, they look exactly like a project researchers at North Carolina State University are working on. <\/p>\n
These intrepid scientists have taken a lightweight chip with a wireless receiver and transmitter and attached it to a cockroach like a little backpack. For the record, large Madagascar hissing cockroaches are the roach of choice. <\/p>\n
A microcontroller is connected to the roach's antennae and cerci (rear sensory organs). Small charges from the wires to the cerci trick the roach into moving in response to a perceived threat. Charges sent to the antennae make the roach think it's bumped into something. Between the two, you have a fairly sophisticated method of cockroach steering. <\/p>\n
The researchers imagine using this cyborg cockroach technology to send the little beasties into tight spaces to search for survivors after disasters. <\/p>\n
I imagine using this cyborg cockroach technology to scare the bejesus out of unsuspecting friends and for reenacting \"Star Trek: The Next Generation\" episodes with cockroach actors. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Here is the original post:<\/p>\n
Eek! Remote-controlled cyborg cockroaches are real<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Scientists with a high tolerance for creepy-crawlies have figured out how to create and control cyborg cockroaches. Continue reading