Want to control cyborg cockroaches? There's a mobile app for that - Mumbai Mirror

Cockroaches may strike fear into the hearts of humans, but now you can control their movements - one roach at a time - with a smartphone app. A pair of University of Michigan alumni have built a device that can direct a live cockroach's wanderings by sending turn signals directly to its nerves, according to their TEDGlobal talk presented in Edinburgh, Scotland, this week. The device, known as RoboRoach, works by strapping a computer chip onto the roach's shell like a backpack and attaching wires to the nerves in its antennae. Sending a signal to the antenna apparently tells the roach that there's a wall in front of it, forcing the insect to turn either left or right, according to the researchers' Kickstarter video (http://kck.st/13t0fDt). The result is a system that can be controlled via Bluetooth from a smartphone simply by swiping a finger across your screen. The RoboRoach researchers say the robotic roach can be a handy tool for students to learn about neuroscience (which they describe in a paper in PLoS ONE). Agencies via Science - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNE1Wq5e8R-LUbOmQDQBQriHV79TPQ&url=http://www.mumbaimirror.com/others/sci-tech/techtalk/Want-to-control-cyborg-cockroaches-Theres-a-mobile-app-for-that/articleshow/20598122.cms

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