Creepy RoboRoach Controlled by Smartphone: Cyborg Cockroaches Created (Video)

Cockroaches are some of the least-loved creatures of the insect world. Now, these roaches may be getting an upgrade that may make them even creepier. Scientists have created cyborg roaches that can be controlled with the touch of a smartphone.

The insects are actually intended to be a neuroscience learning tool. Equipped with a "backpack" of circuitry, the roaches undergo surgery that involves implanting their antennae with wires that communicate with the backpack. This allows users to send signals to the roach remotely that react with the insect's neurons. This, in turn, allows users to control exactly where it moves.

While you might think that this may hurt the roach, you shouldn't worry. The signals don't seem to bother the insect too much--or at least not as much as stepping on it would. Researchers have even said that the insect learns to adapt and ignore the stimulation over time, which may mean that you could eventually have a rogue cockroach on your hands.

Although it's possible that you could potentially use this roach robot to scare your friends and family, researchers are adamant that the insect has other uses.

"This is not just a gimmick, the technique is the same as that used to treat Parkinson's disease and in cochlear implants," said Greg Gage, the neuroscientist who came up with the "RoboRoach" idea, in an interview with BBC News. "The point of the project is to create a tool to learn about how our brain works."

Although Gage will be presenting the new cockroach at the TEDGlobal conference taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland this week, the public may soon be getting a chance to take the roach for a test drive themselves. A group of scientists and engineers working to change the way neuroscience is taught in schools and colleges has begun a Kickstarter campaign. The focus of this campaign is to raise money to help aid the development of a RoboRoach kit, where students can wire up a cockroach that they can control with their own smartphones. So far, the campaign has raised $2000 of the $10,000 it needs by July 10.

Want to see the RoboRoach in action for yourself? You can check it out below, originally appearing here.