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What's the Business Model For Commercializing Cyborgs?

An anonymous reader points out an article about Backyard Brains, a small company notable for turning cockroaches into cyborgs. The article explores how such an odd use of science and technology can actually form the basis of a business. They primarily work with educational organizations to bring their brand of DIY neuroscience to students and other interested parties. School budgets are often small, so a key part of Backyard Brains's goal is to make things inexpensive. "We want to inspire a generation of citizen-scientists. If we can lower the barrier to entry so the only limit is creativity, that might help with finding treatments for neurological disorders." As they find success, they're developing more research kits, and finding more ways to make cyborg insects into a business.

43 comments

  1. Duh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Cyborg sex dolls. Japan already invented this business model in anime.

    1. Re:Duh by davester666 · · Score: 1

      More like "Your payment of $45.68 for continued use of your enhancements today has exceeded your credit limit. Please have someone make the payment for you to reenable the use of them." (you "hear" this in your head as you lie on the floor, unable to move)

      --
      Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
    2. Re: Duh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Haha. Brilliant and scaril true,

    3. Re:Duh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      +N; I've got mod points, but I've no idea how to choose between "insightful", "informative", "interesting" or "funny"...

  2. "He has a pace maker..." by Rinikusu · · Score: 1

    GODDAMNED CYBORGS WILL BE THE DEATH OF US ALL!!!!11!1!!!!!!!

    my apologies to silicon valley. liberties taken with actual quote.

    --
    If you were me, you'd be good lookin'. - six string samurai
  3. Is obvious, yes? by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 1

    Provide neurosurgery and implant at subsidized contract price. Charge consumer 'brainst genuine advantage' subscription fee for privilege of not being locked out of all inputs and outputs, trapped in a solipsistic hell-world of unimaginable ennui where time has no meaning and consumer begs in vain for death's sweet release. Is compelling sales pitch, no? Also, you can use cyborg body as nimble bio-robot while customer 'considers' sunscription payment. Generate extra income from otherwise wasted labor asset.

    1. Re:Is obvious, yes? by ColdWetDog · · Score: 1

      Nah, TL;DR.

      It's going to be about sex.

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
  4. What's the business model? by The+Grim+Reefer · · Score: 1

    Backyard Brains, a small company notable for turning cockroaches into cyborgs.

    Get the cyborg cockroaches to scavenge for parts and start converting other cockroaches into cyborgs too. Once you have enough, you demand "One Billion Dollars" from the governments of the world, or risk being invaded by terminator roaches.

    What could possibly go wrong?

    1. Re:What's the business model? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      http://people.csail.mit.edu/brooks/papers/fast-cheap.pdf

  5. The elephant in the room by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Is this ethical? most people eat meat and have no problem for using animals as things, but this is a little more evil that that isn't?

    1. Re:The elephant in the room by antiperimetaparalogo · · Score: 2

      Is this ethical? most people eat meat and have no problem for using animals as things, but this is a little more evil that that isn't?

      It is more evil. I eat meat, i benefit from experiments on animal, i hunt/fish, i used animals for other things, e.g., horse-carriages, i even turtured creatures as a kid, but i also find this is "a little more evil" - i may be a hypocrite, but i feel questions about ethics must be raised.

      --
      Antisthenes: "Wisdom begins by examining the words/names." - excuse my English, i am (slightly...) better with my Greek!
    2. Re:The elephant in the room by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Denial of freedom is typically viewed as less evil than killing something.

    3. Re:The elephant in the room by khallow · · Score: 1

      but this is a little more evil that that isn't?

      What's more important? A little more protein in the diet or educating the next generation of scientists? See? It's more good.

    4. Re:The elephant in the room by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Thank you! We live in a time when technology can shift paradigms much more quickly than society is able to respond (remember the time when using https for anything not bank related was akin to wearing thinfoil?) but then came Snowden and showed us wrong. We need to discuss the ethics of the new reach of technology in an unbiased (speacially loosing bias from religion and tradition) way and whitout name calling.

    5. Re:The elephant in the room by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't think the end justifies the means.

    6. Re:The elephant in the room by khallow · · Score: 1

      What is it about the means that unjustifies the end? Because to me, cyborging a cockroach is less evil than killing a cow for meat.

  6. Depends on what you mean by "cyborg" by NotDrWho · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Is this "cyborg" as in "Allows the paralyzed to walk," "Allows the small-dicked to be big-dicked," "Allows a soldier or cop to be bulletproof"?

    Or is it "cyborg" as in "We can't actually do anything that anyone would pay for yet, and probably never will."

    Because if it's the former, just issue a press release and stand back. If it's the latter, then the answer is "You can't."

    --
    SJW's don't eliminate discrimination. They just expropriate it for themselves.
    1. Re:Depends on what you mean by "cyborg" by techno-vampire · · Score: 1

      "Allows the small-dicked to be big-dicked,"

      I don't know about that, but I do know a man in his late '70s who had a pump and reservoir installed to work around certain issues that were getting in the way of proper marital relations. It worked so well that he eventually wore it out after about ten years and had it replaced.

      --
      Good, inexpensive web hosting
  7. Huh? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What is the business model for assimilation? That's an irrelevant question.

  8. Maybe it's only a matter of time. by bitchtits · · Score: 1

    Robot horses with A.I. that can negotiate a battlefield are a reality already. Artificial Intelligence poses an increasing potential threat. Give a dexterous robot A.I. behaviour, and it becomes a threat, and - with access to weapons - potentially deadly. The interface between behavioural and physical "presence" needs taming. A combination of programmatic behaviour and physical intelligence could work well. Maybe it's only a matter of time before we're all f**cked by the machine(s): https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [advert for upcoming [ Channel 4, UK ? ] entertainment]

    1. Re:Maybe it's only a matter of time. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Robot horses with A.I. that can negotiate a battlefield are a reality already.

      No, some very loud prototype, tethered, horse-sized robots have been show to be able to walk up a hill.

      Artificial Intelligence poses an increasing potential threat.

      No, but it can do pretty good on Jeopardy--just as long as you type in all the questions in advance and let it have a high speed internet connection to access at all times.

      Give a dexterous robot A.I. behaviour, and it becomes a threat, and - with access to weapons - potentially deadly.

      No, it probably just becomes a robot that even the stupidest human soldier can defeat by tipping it over or doing something even remotely unexpected.

  9. Teach the cyborg cockroaches a useful skill by XxtraLarGe · · Score: 1

    For instance, if your cyborg cockroaches could wash the dishes or sweep the floor, I'm sure they'd sell like hotcakes!

    --
    Taking guns away from the 99% gives the 1% 100% of the power.
    1. Re:Teach the cyborg cockroaches a useful skill by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Or a cyborg cockroach to go and eradicate the other cockroaches. RAID pesticide company might be interested.

      What better way to kill cockroaches than having a terminator cockroach. And if you network then Worldwide, we could finally eradicate every living cockroach everywhere. And some fly, too! I really don't see any downside to it at all.

    2. Re:Teach the cyborg cockroaches a useful skill by Culture20 · · Score: 5, Funny

      Or a cyborg cockroach to go and eradicate the other cockroaches. RAID pesticide company might be interested.

      What better way to kill cockroaches than having a terminator cockroach. And if you network then Worldwide, we could finally eradicate every living cockroach everywhere. And some fly, too! I really don't see any downside to it at all.

      Send it back in time to kill the first cockroach.

    3. Re:Teach the cyborg cockroaches a useful skill by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      John Cockroach. Come with me if you want to live.

    4. Re:Teach the cyborg cockroaches a useful skill by C+R+Johnson · · Score: 2

      I am not sure cockroaches are the right insect because they are particularly filthy, eating their own poop and all.

      However a few years ago a friend of mine remarked how useful ants would be for such a role, for cleaning the floor of crumbs.

      I think if you could find a way to borgify insects the profitable sector would be in agriculture.

      Sell dragonflies and mantises programmed so seek out and destroy corn pests. Sell engineered grasshoppers who leave the corn alone but eat everything else.

      --
      The alternative to limited government is unlimited government.
    5. Re:Teach the cyborg cockroaches a useful skill by Tablizer · · Score: 1

      Well, according to certain industry spokespersons, there is a shortage of cockroach coders.

  10. Developing the Next Generation by koan · · Score: 1

    Of ethically challenged humans.

    --
    "If any question why we died, Tell them because our fathers lied."
  11. school budgets are not small by turkeydance · · Score: 1

    1. at least, public school systems aren't. yes, they don't spend enough on this, and spend too much on that, but they aren't small. 2. business model? start with sales and marketing. then you can raise your own budget when you put them as the primary focus. 3. citizen-scientists? we're all citizens of somewhere. how about just plain-old scientists?

    1. Re:school budgets are not small by khallow · · Score: 1

      at least, public school systems aren't. yes, they don't spend enough on this, and spend too much on that, but they aren't small.

      Some public schools are in that category. And some public schools are in the category of only having a chemistry class because the teacher donated equipment.

  12. Same as that for slavery by WillAffleckUW · · Score: 1

    So, in short, similar to nail salon workers or shrimping boat workers.

    --
    -- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
  13. A great idea by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I for one welcome our new cockroach terminator overlords.

    I must also express my utility in the coming human apocalypse and the ability for me to round up Sarah Connors for you to feast on.

  14. Leave it to the loonies by Echo_Hotel · · Score: 1

    Because "citizen-scientists" don't require any liability on our part we'll just wait for the body-mod scene to figure out the details of implant rejection and how best to jam something under the skin for the long term.

  15. every step towards automation is said to be useful by ltorvalds024 · · Score: 1

    every step towards automation is said to be useful for some purpose; but the problem is that it will not only be used for good purpose but also for crime, and thats where things get complicated: is technology solving problems or creating more?

  16. Surgery is the business model by gurps_npc · · Score: 1
    Currently a human can quite easily have a hip replacement, pacemaker, artificial breasts and a cochlear implant.

    Some people are getting magnets installed in their hands - to detect electro magnetic fields and others get an NFCS chip in the hand - to unlock any electronic lock coded to it. Those tend be done in Tattoo parlors.

    They can also implant other things. Real life Geordie is here - his name is Neil Harbisson. He was born color blind but has an antenaa installed in his head. It directly connects (physically sticks OUT of his head) to an electronic device which can send color signals to his brain, allowing him to know whether his clothing matches or clashes.

    --
    excitingthingstodo.blogspot.com
  17. What could POSSIBLY go wrong? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "We are the Borg Roaches. We will assimilate all of the food in your home. Resistance is futile."

    "We are the CyberRoaches. You will be upgraded into a CyberMadagascarRoach. If you refuse to be upgraded, you will be deleted. Delete! Delete!"

  18. Politicians by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ... Business Model For Commercializing Cyborgs?

    Plant them into politician's skulls. Then there will be a cyber-war between captured regulators (or US superPACs) for control of a politician. It will demonstrate that money is bribery ^H^H^H free speech to the voters.

  19. Count me out! by techno-vampire · · Score: 1

    Whatever it is, you can count me out! I already have ocular implants and adjustable, augmented hearing and that's as bionic as I want to be!

    --
    Good, inexpensive web hosting
  20. Im game by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "I'm ready for my neural implant now. Crack open my skull and stab that little microprocessor deep into my medulla oblongata. I happily embrace my cyborg future. At least as some unholy union of man and machine I'll actually be able to play Heroes of Might and Magic III every waking hour instead of just thinking about it every second that I'm away from my computer."
    By Robert Coffey, Computer gaming world- Posted 07/01/99

  21. yeah. or.... by JustNiz · · Score: 1

    >>> "We want to inspire a generation of citizen-scientists. If we can lower the barrier to entry so the only limit is creativity, that might help with finding treatments for neurological disorders." ...and besides, making it easy to send uncomfortably large pulses of electricity directly into the middle of a cockroach's brain is waaay cool

  22. Next up: Sharks. by Em+Adespoton · · Score: 1

    They've done cockroaches; next up is sharks with lasers implanted in their heads.

  23. Business Model? by Agripa · · Score: 1

    The business model is finding Sara Connor.