Rodents are outfitted with tiny, cutting-edge backpacks as part of the project, which was developed by Belgian non-profit APOPO, to assist first responders in their search for survivors among the rubble in disaster zones.
Rat Mouse Laboratory
Training Rats for Search Operation
According to Donna Kean, the project's leader and behavioral research scientist, rats are typically quite curious and like to explore, which is important for search and rescue operations. Rats are ideal for finding things in confined spaces because of their small size, keen sense of smell, and adventurous nature..
The rats are currently being taught to look for survivors in a disaster-relief simulation. They must first find the target person in a room that is empty, press a switch on their vest to activate a beeper, and then make their way back to base to receive a treat.
Kean said that the rats are a huge asset for search and rescue along with the backpack and training.
APOPO Working to Create a Backpack Technology
APOPO is working with the Eindhoven University of Technology to create a backpack that is outfitted with a video camera, two-way microphone, and location transmitter to aid first responders in speaking with survivors while the rodents are still in the early stages of training.
The organization has been training dogs and rats to detect landmines and tuberculosis for more than ten years at its base in Tanzania. Its programs employ African Giant Pouched Rats, which can live in captivity for up to eight years as opposed to the common brown rat's four years.
According to MSN, the technology that allowed first responders to communicate with victims via the rats was a crucial part of the search and rescue operation. APOPO lacked this before electrical engineer Sander Verdiesen got involved.
While pursuing his master's degree at Eindhoven University of Technology, Verdiesen interned with APOPO in 2019. He was given the task of developing the first version of the rat backpack, which will aid rescuers in understanding what is happening inside disaster zones.
Backpack Prototype
According to CNN, the prototype was a 3D-printed plastic container with a video camera that transmitted live video to a receiver module on a laptop while also recording a high-definition copy on an SD card. Using a vest made of neoprene, the same material as scuba suits, it attached to the rats. In rooms that mimic the rubble and debris of disaster zones, APOPO trains the rats at its base in Tanzania.
Verdiesen flew to Tanzania to test the apparatus, and he claims that while the rats initially struggled with it, they quickly became accustomed to it. In the end, he continued, they were simply running around with the backpack on, no issues at all.
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Backpack Advancement
APOPO plans to add a location tracker and two-way microphone to the backpack in addition to the video camera that is currently inside. Verdeisen is also attempting to reduce the size of the next version while adding more technology, like a two-way microphone. The prototype was twice as heavy as intended, weighing in at about 140 grams, but Verdeisen claims that bulkiness was more of a problem, measuring 10 centimeters long and 4 centimeters deep.
He explains that the rats were walking up against something that normally they could go under. Then suddenly they can not anymore.
Verdeisen intends to integrate everything onto a single printed circuit board, which will free up more space, to make it as compact as possible without sacrificing any functionality. He explains that the rats were approaching something they could typically go under, but suddenly they are unable to do so.
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