Sticking with technology for the moment, this is a crowdsourced device that received international attention due to concerns about animal cruelty. The RoboRoach involves taking a cockroach, sanding down the back and gluing a circuit board to it. If applied correctly, the board electrifies the cockroach's antennae and allows the user to control the insect using a smartphone. The critics state that the instructions require the insect to be placed in iced water in order to numb their nerves. Then not only is the wax on the back of the insect sanded off, but a needle has to punch a hole in the thorax and the antennae are cut. Backyard Brains, the company behind the RoboRoach, hoped that the device would encourage children to take an interest in neuroscience. Each RoboRoach only works for around twenty minutes as the cockroach learns to ignore the electrical stimuli over time. A variety of scientists criticised the process, but 183 backers disagreed and funded the project to a sum of $12,339 which was a couple of thousand dollars over the request of $10,000. Backyard Brains had two previous Kickstarter projects, but the RoboRoach was by far the most successful.
