Garnet Hertz: Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine

This is a weird project. Truely, weird. Using a giant cockroach to control a robot? Err.. I find it almost shocking that this guy is from my own school, in the program that I was once interested in (Interdisciplinary arts, Computer and engineer program). But if I had known that some projects might be something like this, to deal with cockroaches, I would have never wanted to be 500 feet near the buildings.

But I find some of the Q&A quite funny.

Isn’t it cruel to use a cockroach like this?

People are upset if cockroaches are healthy, happy and producing piles of babies in their kitchens. People are also upset if they are being hurt for the sake of entertainment… The insects I use lead normal, healthy lives: if you don’t believe me, send me your address and I’ll slip some eggs under your front door.

You should read for yourself. =)