Some people find them rather repulsive, others even keep them as pets: the prevailing opinions about rats often differ widely. However, the small rodents can be useful in any case – for example in the event of natural disasters, as a research project by the Belgian non-profit organization APOPO shows.
Rats are trained to help rescue teams search for victims in collapsed buildings after natural disasters such as earthquakes or hurricanes. Because of their size, the rodents can maneuver through the debris much better than humans. You will be provided with a miniature backpack containing a video camera. It was made by a team of engineers from Eindhoven University of Technology. The aim is that the mini backpacks will soon also contain a tracking device and a microphone, which should work in both directions – so that helpers and victims can communicate with each other.
Rats are trained with mock collapse sites
Rats are naturally curious and love to explore their surroundings, which makes them good candidates for search and rescue operations, according to behavioral scientist Donna Kean, who is leading the project.
The project has been running since August 2021, seven rats are being trained at APOPO’s training ground in Morogoro in Tanzania. For this purpose, a collapse site was simulated with various obstacles that the animals have to overcome. In training, the rats are taught a specific sequence: find the human victim in the field, get to them, and then pull on a small ball attached to a vest worn by the rodents. This sends a signal to the human helper that the victim has been found. After that, on a signal, they should return to the helper, where they will be given something to eat as a reward.
According to APOCO, the animals have already successfully mastered this first training phase. Now the difficulties on the training ground are increased further in order to get the animals more and more used to working under real conditions – for example through increased background noise or a training ground with several floors. When the rats are trained enough and their backpacks are ready, they are supposed to go to the voluntary search and rescue organization GEA in Turkey for a final test run. Once they have completed their training, the animals will be used here to help find survivors in collapsed buildings more quickly.
Sources: Press release APOPO, CNN