Tag Archives: cockroach

R/C Cockroach Controlled by iOS: Yep, There’s an App for That

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If you read the site regularly, you know that we here at Technabob love weird Japanese gadgets. Something you probably don’t already have lying around your office – a remote-controlled cockroach that you can drive with your iPhone.

rc cockroach ios

This creepy, crawly critter connects via an infrared wireless dongle you plug into the dock connector on your iOS device (sorry iPhone 5 users, you’ll need to wait for your lightning to 30-pin adapter to show up).

rc cockroach ios 2

Then, using a companion app, you can steer the bugs with your phone or tablet. The bug itself can be recharged by plugging it into your computer’s USB port. But enough of my yakkin’. Let’s see this bad boy in action…

You can pick up this iOS controlled cockroach over at Re!Ex!!Japan!!! for $44(USD).


Scientists Creating Remote-Controlled Zombie Cockroaches

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If taking over a cockroach’s nervous system sounds like your idea of a good time, you should join up with these North Carolina State University researchers, who are having a grand old time perverting nature and ushering in humanities downfall.

robo roach
These researchers are molding a commercially-available chip that could be mounted on a cockroach, along with a wireless receiver, transmitter, and controller. It sounds crazy, but when you think about it, cockroaches can get into all kinds of small places that people can’t go. Heck they can even survive a nuclear blast, or so I’ve heard. In short, they are perfect for this job. By job, I mean becoming zombies and being controlled like an R/C car, or following along a pre-determined path like in the video clip below:

They are perfect for spy missions, or as explosive carriers and anything else that our minds can dream up. All the more reason to get the Raid out and step on these suckers.

[via Geek via Geeky-Gadgets]


Researchers take full control of cockroach’s movement, turn it into a wireless sensor

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DNP Cockroaches

Built-in power supply? Check. Ability to survive anything? Check. Easy to control? Okay, anyone who's had a cockroach as an uninvited houseguest knows that's not the case. So, rather than re-inventing the biological wheel with a robotic version, North Carolina State university researchers have figured out a way to remotely control a real Madagascar hissing cockroach. They used an off-the-shelf microcontroller to tap in to the roach's antennae and abdomen, then sent commands that fooled the insect into thinking danger was near, or that an object was blocking it. That let the scientists wirelessly prod the insect into action, then guide it precisely along a curved path, as shown in the video below the break. The addition of a sensor could allow the insects to one day perform tasks, liking searching for trapped disaster victims -- something to think about the next time you put a shoe to one.

Continue reading Researchers take full control of cockroach's movement, turn it into a wireless sensor

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Researchers take full control of cockroach's movement, turn it into a wireless sensor originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Sep 2012 11:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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