The Roboroach Is Either The Best Or Worst Holiday Gift Ever

Let’s say you have a certain someone on your list who is really into biohacking. Let’s also assume you’re Ok with having discoid roaches in the house. Then also let’s assume you don’t mind people operating on those roaches on your dining room table. Have I got a Christmas gift idea for you!

We first talked about the Roboroach back in 2011 when we found the idea to be weird and repellent. Arguably the idea is still weird and repellent but it is also an incredible experiment in neuroscience and a great way to teach STEM to potentially bored kids.

What is the Roboroach? It’s a $99 kit that includes a small Bluetooth-powered chip and a mini surgery. Roaches cost extra but you can get them at a local pet store. They recommend discoid roaches which cannot fly and have a few helpful markers on their bodies to help in the surgery.

Please remember that this is not a toy. You are working on live insects here and whilethe folks who make these, BackyardBrains offers a detailed ethical statement, you have to be OK working and potentially killing a living thing. It’s a hard thing for kids to grasp and it’s also pretty gross if you’re not in the proper mindset.

To “install” it you have to insert a tiny wire lead into the roach’s wing muscle and then snip and connect leads to the roach’s antennae. The first step, however, is to glue a three-lead system to its head carapace. The process is at once precise and very imprecise. If you’re not a born surgeon you are sure to mess things up but the bug is essentially asleep during your ministrations thanks to an ice water bath that occurs after each step. This is not for the squeamish. The insertion of the leads is quite difficult the first time and the snipping of the antennae and insertion of the other two leads is quite scary. Everything is held together with super glue and a low temperature hot glue gun and the insect can survive the procedure and live a happy life after you experiment on it, dying a natural death albeit with a three-pronged lead attached to its head.

Once everything is installed you can simply connect a very small and light electrical stimulator to the bug and start sending signals.

How does it work? Again, you have to treat this like a scientific experiment. The system is not actually a remote control for a roach. It’s more like a signal generator that sends electrical pulses to the roach’s antennae. These pulses then send the roach moving either left or right, depending on the signal. This works only for a brief period and then neuroplasticity kicks in and the roach forgets the signals.

I did this with three kids ages 3, 6, and 9 and all of them were very weirded out but they all had a good time watching and talking about the experiment. Unlike, say, model rocketry this project is quite involved and quite advanced and I could definitely see some solid experiments coming from this kit and it should inspire some biologists of the future.

The Roboroach will either make perfect sense as a gift for someone on your holiday list or it will make no sense at all. Whether or not you want to put roaches under your tree is a judgement call only you can make but rest assured it’s a crazy and crazy fun way to learn about biohacking in a very real way.

Comments

How ad-free subscriptions could solve Facebook

At the core of Facebook’s “well-being” problem is that its business is directly coupled with total time spent on its apps. The more hours you pass on the social network, the more ads you see and click, the more money it earns. That puts its plan to make using Facebook healthier at odds with its finances, restricting how far it’s willing to go to protect us from the harms of over use. The advertising-supported model comes with some big benefits, though. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has repeatedly said that “We will always keep Facebook a free service for everyone.” Ads lets Facebook remain free for those who don’t want to pay, and more importantly, for those around the world who couldn’t afford to. Ads pay for Facebook to keep the lights on, research and develop new technologies, and profit handsomely in a way that attracts top talent and further investment. More affluent users with more buying power in markets like the US, UK, and Canada command higher ad prices, effectively...

10 Reasons Why You Should Invest in Mobile App Development

With mobile apps developed for mobile operating systems from Apple, Android, and others, you can create brand awareness and loyalty amongsta huge number of existing and potential customers. In fact, many customers now expect a business or brand to have its own dedicated mobile app. This means that it is not only becoming a necessity to gain a competitive edge over other businesses, it is becoming a necessity to avoid falling behind your competition. Having a dedicated mobile app adds to the credibility of the brand. Keeping in mind the importance that mobile applications hold in today’s society, it is only wise to create one for your business. Here are the top reasons why you should invest in mobile application development. 1. The World has Gone Mobile There is no denying that the world has gone mobile and there is no turning back. Consumers are using their smartphones to find local businesses. Your online branding efforts are being viewed via mobile channels....

eGym raises $45M Series C for cloud-connected gym equipment and fitness software

eGym , the Munich-based startup that offers cloud-connected gym equipment and supporting cloud software and app for the fitness training floor, has closed $45 million in Series C funding. The round was led by new investor HPE Growth Capital, while existing investors, including Highland Europe, also participated. The problem that eGym is looking to solve is that, whilst gyms have moved from a bodybuilder market to a mass market in the last 20 years, the technology in gyms lags behind. That’s despite the fact that better use of technology can help to reduce customer churn, the biggest pain-point of both gym operator and gym users. Comprising of an app for both gym user and trainer, combined with the company’s connected strength machines, the eGym Cloud makes it possible for gym members to receive better fitness instruction and an evolving and personalised fitness plan based on data collected as they workout. And by providing a better workout feedback loop, gym goers can get an i...

The 7 Best Mockup Tools for App Entrepreneurs

The 7 Best Mockup Tools for App Entrepreneurs When you want to create the greatest possible mobile app that you can build, you likely already realize that you’ll need a strong foundation to start with. Building an exceptional mobile app isn’t so different from crafting a luxury home in this respect. It all begins with the blueprint, base and groundwork. In the case of mobile, you’ll need a strong and durable mockup before you even consider putting your development team to work. Thankfully, app entrepreneurs have been gifted with an abundance of options to choose from when it comes to selecting a top-quality mockup tool to use. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with performing your initial mockups on paper. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. There’s even something special about telling a friend your spontaneous new app idea, while immediately sketching out its wireframe on notebook paper. But, we’ve put together a list of The 7 Best Mockup Tools for App Entrepren...

Google Photos Breaks Free Of Google+, Now Offers Free, Unlimited Storage

Google officially announced its long-rumored revamp of its photo-sharing service, Google Photos, at its I/O developer conference in San Francisco today. The killer feature? Users can now backup up full-resolution photos and videos – up to 16MP for photos and 1080p for videos – to Google’s cloud for free. The service will roll out to Android, iOS and web users starting today, the company says. The free storage option makes more sense for those with point-and-shoot cameras, and lets you keep a copy of your photos that’s good for your typical printing and photo-sharing needs. However, those with DSLR cameras or who want to store their photos and videos in their original sizes can choose a different plan which taps into your Google Account’s 15 GB of free storage. This is what was available before , and you can add to your storage quota as needed for a fee. We had been hearing for some time that Google would break out Photos fro...

Exciting Technology

Search This Blog