Earthquakes, flooding and hurricanes can cause enormous damage to infrastructure and trap people inside collapsed buildings. A new project from Belgian non-profit APOPO is training rodents to search the rubble of disaster zones for survivors, and kitting them out with tiny, high-tech backpacks to help first responders communicate with them.
Earthquakes, flooding and hurricanes can cause enormous damage to infrastructure and trap people inside collapsed buildings. A new project from Belgian non-profit APOPO is training rodents to search the rubble of disaster zones for survivors, and kitting them out with tiny, high-tech backpacks to help first responders communicate with them.
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The rats are trained by having them search for a human target in a room -- a stand-in for the victim. The training started with a simple search, find, recall sequence in an empty room, but the team has gradually increased the complexity of the environments, says Donna Kean, a behavioral research scientist and leader of the project. 
The rats are trained by having them search for a human target in a room -- a stand-in for the victim. The training started with a simple search, find, recall sequence in an empty room, but the team has gradually increased the complexity of the environments, says Donna Kean, a behavioral research scientist and leader of the project. 
© APOPO
The rats must navigate debris and rubble to find their target. Kean says the animals are naturally curious and adventurous, and that the training is similar to the kind of playtime they enjoy.
The rats must navigate debris and rubble to find their target. Kean says the animals are naturally curious and adventurous, and that the training is similar to the kind of playtime they enjoy.
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For training purposes, the rats are using a simple pull-switch on a vest, but in collaboration with the Eindhoven University of Technology, APOPO is developing a 3D-printed backpack for the project. They plan to include a video camera, two-way microphone, and location transmitter, so that if the rats enter the field, search and rescue teams will be able to find and communicate with victims. 
For training purposes, the rats are using a simple pull-switch on a vest, but in collaboration with the Eindhoven University of Technology, APOPO is developing a 3D-printed backpack for the project. They plan to include a video camera, two-way microphone, and location transmitter, so that if the rats enter the field, search and rescue teams will be able to find and communicate with victims. 
© APOPO
It's not just their adventurous nature that makes them well suited to the job: rats have an incredible sense of smell, and their small size means they can squeeze into tight spaces.
It's not just their adventurous nature that makes them well suited to the job: rats have an incredible sense of smell, and their small size means they can squeeze into tight spaces.
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When a rat finds a target, it has to pull a switch on its vest to alerts the trainer. The trainer then triggers a beeping sound, which signals the rat to return to the same point it was released from.
When a rat finds a target, it has to pull a switch on its vest to alerts the trainer. The trainer then triggers a beeping sound, which signals the rat to return to the same point it was released from.
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When the rat returns to its trainer, it's rewarded with a treat -- typically peanuts, or food in a syringe such as avocado or banana.
When the rat returns to its trainer, it's rewarded with a treat -- typically peanuts, or food in a syringe such as avocado or banana.
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Seven rats are currently being trained for search and rescue at APOPO's base in Tanzania. APOPO uses African Giant Pouched Rats, which have a longer lifespan in captivity of around eight years, compared to the four years of the common brown rat.
Seven rats are currently being trained for search and rescue at APOPO's base in Tanzania. APOPO uses African Giant Pouched Rats, which have a longer lifespan in captivity of around eight years, compared to the four years of the common brown rat.
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Trainers continue to make the simulated environments more complex, adding more potential distractions, such as industrial sounds, to mimic real emergencies and monitor the rat's responses.
Trainers continue to make the simulated environments more complex, adding more potential distractions, such as industrial sounds, to mimic real emergencies and monitor the rat's responses.
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Once the rats are confident in more complex environments, the project will move to Turkey, where GEA is based, for further preparation in more realistic environments. If that goes well, then the rats would potentially enter real-life situations -- although as the training is experimental, there is no timeline for this yet.
Once the rats are confident in more complex environments, the project will move to Turkey, where GEA is based, for further preparation in more realistic environments. If that goes well, then the rats would potentially enter real-life situations -- although as the training is experimental, there is no timeline for this yet.
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