Scientists are teaching rats to search for earthquake survivors while wearing tiny backpacks with built-in microphones, allowing rescuers to identify and communicate with them.
Dr Donna Kean, a research scientist from Glasgow, has spent the last year working in Morogoro, Tanzania, with the non-profit organization APOPO on the ‘Hero Rats’ project.
The team is working on customized backpacks with built-in microphones, camera equipment, and GPS trackers that can be attached to rats, allowing rescuers to interact with survivors during real earthquakes.
Scientists are currently testing them in simulated debris to replicate a rescue reaction in the event of a natural disaster.
Kean said: ‘Rats would be able to get into small spaces to get to victims buried in rubble.
‘We have not been in a real situation yet, we have got a mock debris site.’
The rodents are trained to respond to a beep, which calls them back to the base.
‘When we get the new backpacks we will be able to hear from where we are based and where the rat is, inside the debris,’ she said.
‘We have the potential to speak to victims through the rat,’ Kean added.
The backpacks are being made by one of her coworkers, a seamstress.
Seven rats have been trained so far, and it only took the scientists two weeks to get them up to speed.
The rats will be shipped to Turkey soon, where they will have the opportunity to work in the fields.
Because the country is prone to earthquakes, the GAE search and rescue team agreed to put the rat squad to the test.