Finding the perfect present for the person that has everything is now an easy task with the cyborg cockroach Roboroach. By far our favourite present that no one believes is real Roboroach is a high tech remote control for a cockroach, cockroach not included.

Far from science fiction this is a real device that once attached to your pet cockroach will allow you to control left and right movements via an iPhone app. Backyard Brains have single handily created the world’s first cyborg kit while simultaneously managing to gross out almost the entire world.

Roboroach is one of those polarizing products that you will love it or hate, and as with most polarizing products it forces us to face some weighty issues. When I first started this article it was with he assumption that Roboroach was simply a cool gadget for Christmas, watching the video however made my stomach turn. Yet this technology may bring with it many positives, we still have much to learn about neural circuits and neural biology. So should we take an early ethical hit to help in the future?

Backyard Brains introduced the world to their new toy via Kickstarter, their Roboroach project quickly passed their $10,000 goal before the July deadline, bringing the Roboroach to life. They have now sold over 300 kits at $99 USD a piece.

Roboroach is based on leading edge technology; it is however still a little messy to assemble. With your mad scientists white coat on the process begins by stunning / anaesthetising the roach by dipping it in ice cold water. Sandpaper is then used to sand away part of the roach’s head where electrodes are superglued. A wire is inserted into its thorax, its antenna are cut off with more electrodes inserted and the electronic backpack is superglued to its back. Leaving you to load up the iPhone app.

This is not a death sentence for the cyborg roaches; once the electronics are removed the roach recovers in a week according to the Roboroach website. The site also highlights that Roboroach is no toy, according to Backyard Brains it is a serious educational tool teaching the fundamentals of neural science.

PETA has waged into the cyborg roach discussion making it clear they are not amused. “This cruel and inhumane product instructs children to, without anaesthesia, sand down various parts of a living cockroach’s body,” Goodman said in a statement Tuesday. “They stab a syringe through the animal, force electrodes into the thorax.”

Hiding just under the surface layer of disgusting however is a revolution, a cybernetic first step into a brave new electronic world. Cyborgs and human enhanced with computer technology are some of the classic cyberpunk dreams, these dreams are now fast becoming a reality. Would you have a Roboroach like implant if it meant you would be twice as smart, or if it could double your memories accuracy? What if Google Glass came as an implant?

Backyard Brains have even recently demonstrated a brain to brain interface, between a human and a cockroach. With the remote control of RoboRoach replaced with a direct brain interface allowing the controller to simply think left or right, the signal is sent to the roach and enacted by the electrodes.

While cyborg insects may not be the Christmas present for everyone it does raise many questions regarding where we are going, ironic that controlling an insects direction may just have more of an impact on ours. Still we can be sure that there is a present for everyone on the internet.

Reference: RoboRoach