Here come the ratbots

[Guest guest]

Hi All,

This is really very scarry stuff. Be sure to check out the link for graphics.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1961000/1961798.stm

Guided rats controlled through implants in their brains could one day be used to

search for landmines or buried victims

of earthquakes, scientists say. An extraordinary experiment has seen

researchers steering five rodents - so-called

ratbots - through an obstacle course by remote control. Writing in the journal

Nature, the scientists say the ratbots

could reach places inaccessible to humans or machines. The research team is led

by Dr Sanjiv Talwar, of the State

University of New York, US.

Commands and rewards

Electrodes were implanted into areas of the rats' brains responsible for sensing

reward, as well as those that process

signals from the whiskers. The commands and rewards were transmitted by radio

from a laptop computer to a backpack

receiver strapped to each rodent.

The scientists were able to make the rats run, turn, jump and climb where they

wanted. The researchers were able to send

these commands from distances of up to 500 metres (1640 feet). The ratbots

negotiated an obstacle course which involved

climbing a vertical ladder, running along a narrow ledge, hopping down a flight

of steps, squeezing through a hoop and

descending a steep ramp.

Better than machines

The scientists said: " Our rats were easily guided through pipes and across

elevated runways and ledges, and could be

instructed to climb or jump from any surface that offered sufficient purchase.

" We were also able to guide rats in

systematically exploring large, collapsed piles of concrete rubble and to direct

them through environments that they

would normally avoid, such as brightly lit, open arenas. " A " turn left " signal

was interpreted by the rats' brains as a

" touch " on their left whiskers. If the rats correctly followed the cue and

turned left, their reward-centres were

stimulated, filling the rodents with a feeling of well-being. Dr Talwar said:

" This is an animal with 200 million years

of evolution behind it. Rats have native intelligence which is a lot better than

artificial intelligence.

Ethical problems

" It is a hard problem simply trying to make a robot move properly over

unpredictable terrain. It would be a simple

matter to train rescue rats to recognise and home in on the smell of a human

trapped under rubble. " Dr Talwar

acknowledged there might be ethical objections to such ideas, even if they could

save human lives. " Our animals were

completely happy and treated well and in no sense was there any cruelty

involved, " he said. " Nonetheless, the idea is

sort of creepy. I do not know what the answer is to that. "

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Good health & long life,

Greg ,

http://optimalhealth.cia.com.au