Hacking a toy’s remote-control mechanism to open your blinds when you wake up in the morning: cool. Hacking a toy’s remote-control mechanism directly into a cockroach’s nervous system to make it turn whatever direction you want it to: WAIT — WHAT THE F***?!

By modifying the HEXBug toy “Inchworm” circuitry to deliver pulses, we stimulated the antenna nerves of the discoid cockroach to “trick” the cockroach into turning upon command. Stay tuned! as we make the preparation easier, more reliable, and lighter!

Granted we’ve already seen the same performed on flying beetles, but I felt like there was a lot more that went into that. I didn’t know you could just take a toy apart, poke some wires into a cockroach and be good to go. What if the mad scientists find out about this?! SPOILER: MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! Get it? Because that’s how they laugh.

Hit the jump for the ‘oh God please squash it, please squash it!’ in action.

Read more:
NO: Bionic Cockroach Controlled By Remote