Sure it's not The World's Largest Rainbow Birthday Parade or a music video for a "unique brand of folk via body percussion, banjo and harmonies," but a cockroach you can control with your cellphone actually sounds like a superb concept for a Kickstarter.
The RoboRoach is a teaching tool disguised as a toy (a toy that involves *touching large cockroaches!) that's designed as an inexpensive way to bring neuroscience to the masses. The technology uses microstimulation—the same technology utilized to treat Parkinson's Disease and in cochlear implants.
We'll let the founders of Backyard Brains explain the rest (and yes, the cockroaches aren't harmed). Give them some money while you're at it. Because if you must have roaches in your apartment (sorry, you must), it would be nice if you could at least make them fetch you a beer!
*Touching? Sorry, we meant performing roach surgery. In order for the RoboRoach setup to work, "the roach undergoes a short surgery (under anesthesia) in which wires are placed inside the antenna."
