Now,smartphones can control a live cockroach!

However,the process does involve removing one of the cockroach's six legs.

Now,you can control the movements of a live cockroach from your own smartphone with the help of the world8217;s first commercially available cyborg.

Called RoboRoach,the project currently on Kickstarter has been developed by a group of educational researchers called Backyard Brains from Ann Arbor,Michigan.

RoboRoach consists of three components: a cockroach with surgically implanted electrical stimulator8217;s,a cockroach-size 8220;backpack8221; that transmits these signals to a smartphone and an app that allows users to send the cockroach directional commands,8217;TechNewsDaily8217; reported.

Cockroaches are known to navigate by feeling their surroundings with their long antennae.

As antennae touch some object,the neurons within them send an electrical impulse to the cockroach8217;s brain,letting the roach know that there8217;s an obstacle in its way.

The latest project takes advantage of this natural mechanism to control the cockroach8217;s direction.

Researchers surgically implant an electrical stimulator into the cockroach8217;s antennae,a process which involves removing one of the cockroach8217;s six legs.

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Once the cockroach has recovered,they place a small 8220;backpack8221; on the cockroach8217;s back that connects these stimulator8217;s with a control interface 8211; in this case,a smartphone app.

Users can then direct the cockroach8217;s movements by opening the app and dragging their thumb left or right across the screen. The cockroach will then move in the indicated direction.

Touching the screen sends an electrical stimulus through the cockroach8217;s antennae,which makes it think it8217;s encountered an obstacle.

According to Backyard Brains,neither the surgery nor the actual process hurt the cockroaches.

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The cockroaches are anaesthetised before the surgery,and there8217;s no evidence of a pain or a fear response when the cockroaches8217; antennae are electrically stimulated.

The frequency is so mild that after a few minutes the cockroach will stop responding to it. Users will have to readjust the frequency of their stimulation signals from the app,which Backyard Brains says is another opportunity for users to conduct their own neurological experiments.

RoboRoach has been under development for three years and gone through 11 iterations.