{"id":14296,"date":"2022-07-04T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-03T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/?post_type=purple_issue&p=14296"},"modified":"2022-09-16T09:04:38","modified_gmt":"2022-09-16T07:04:38","slug":"horizons-search-and-rescue-rats-are-being-trained-to-find-earthquake-survivors-among-the-rubble","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/2022\/07\/04\/horizons-search-and-rescue-rats-are-being-trained-to-find-earthquake-survivors-among-the-rubble\/","title":{"rendered":"Horizons: Search and rescue rats are being trained to find earthquake survivors among the rubble"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
HORIZONS<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

SEARCH AND RESCUE RATS ARE BEING TRAINED TO FIND EARTHQUAKE SURVIVORS AMONG THE RUBBLE<\/h3>\n\n

Researchers have successfully trained rats to detect landmines, sniff out tuberculosis and even drive cars, but their next challenge \u2013 to find survivors in collapsed buildings \u2013 could be their bravest yet <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

WHY RATS? <\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

They can contribute something that the other technologies can\u2019t, at least for the areas we work in. Their sense of smell and their trainability is on a par with dogs. But it\u2019s the rats\u2019 small size that really makes a difference. <\/p>\n\n

At APOPO [an acronym from the Dutch for Anti-Personnel Landmine Detection Product Development], we work with the African giant pouched rat (Cricetomys ansorgei)<\/em>. We taught them to detect landmines because they\u2019re too small and too light to trigger the devices. We\u2019re teaching them to detect the scent of illegally smuggled wildlife in shipping ports because they can reach the containers stacked up high on top one another.<\/p>\n\n

\"\"
Dr Donna Kean and one of the RescueRATs<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n

For my research in training rats for search and rescue, the main reason is that they can get into the small, tight areas of a debris site. Search and rescue dogs typically just go around debris sites, whereas we\u2019re hoping the rats can actually go inside, through all the rubble, because they\u2019re so small. <\/p>\n\n

Any application of them has to be in response to a humanitarian challenge, and it has to require the unique capabilities of our rats to help. If there\u2019s already [other] effective technology available, and it\u2019s affordable, we\u2019re not going to train our rats just for the fun of it. <\/p>\n\n

HOW DO YOU TRAIN A RAT TO SEEK OUT BURIED SURVIVORS?<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

We use positive reinforcement to train them on a basic sequence of behaviour. So, here it\u2019s to search for a human, indicate to us that they\u2019ve found them, and then return to where they were released. <\/p>\n\n

[Training] starts off in a really basic environment: a small, empty room. Then we gradually expand and increase the complexity so it becomes more like real life. We can start adding in debris and making the training area look more like an actual collapsed building site. <\/p>\n\n

  • \"\"
    The search and rescue rats are trained in rooms that are gradually filled with debris to increasingly resemble the site of an earthquake <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>
  • \"\"<\/figure><\/li>
  • \"\"<\/figure><\/li><\/ul>\n\n
    WHAT HAPPENS WHEN ONE OF THE RATS FINDS A SURVIVOR?<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

    They need to trigger a switch that makes a noise. Currently, we get them to wear a vest that has a little ball on its collar, a ball containing a microswitch. The rats are trained to pull the ball when they find someone, which triggers the microswitch and lets out a beep. <\/p>\n\n

    Pulling the ball isn\u2019t a natural behaviour for them, but they can be trained through a process we call \u2018shaping\u2019. We start by putting the vest with the ball on the rats. They\u2019re naturally quite curious, so when they have the ball hanging there, you can see they\u2019re kind of like, \u2018What is this?\u2019 <\/p>\n\n

    In the beginning, we\u2019re just reinforcing them for touching the ball at all. Then, as is standard for shaping, you would stop reinforcing for just touching so they realise, \u2018Oh, I\u2019m not getting reinforced any more\u2019. Then they\u2019ll try harder [to get the reward].<\/p>\n\n

    \"\"
    RescueRAT Daniel receives a food reward<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n

    That typically leads them to pull on the ball and, when they do, we have to really quickly reward them, so they know that\u2019s the target behaviour. Then, in a similar way, we can continue shaping until they\u2019re pulling it for two to three seconds, so it\u2019s a really strong signal to us. <\/p>\n\n

    Of course, in the field we won\u2019t be able to see the rats, or hear them. <\/p>\n\n

    So, we\u2019re working with a group of engineers to develop a multi-function backpack that\u2019s linked up to our computer so that we\u2019ll be notified when the rats pull the ball. We\u2019ll be able to know exactly where they are, because the backpacks should have a location transmitter, as well. <\/p>\n\n

    HOW CAN THEY TELL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THOSE WHO ARE ALIVE AND THOSE WHO AREN\u2019T? <\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

    We\u2019ve talked about this a lot, because we\u2019ll only do the training with living people. However, dog trainers have told us that the odour profile of a person that\u2019s alive, compared to a person that\u2019s dead, is very different. <\/p>\n\n

    Dogs can tell the difference between a living and deceased person from around three to four hours after death. <\/p>\n\n

    We thought that maybe we\u2019d have to train the rats using some sort of smell that we might be able to get our hands on \u2013 it\u2019s hard to know what to call it, but, basically, we would need the smell of death. <\/p>\n\n

    But the dog trainers have told us we don\u2019t have to do that, because the odour change between living and dead people is so different that it\u2019s not a problem. <\/p>\n\n

    WHEN WILL THESE RATS BE PUT TO WORK IN THE FIELD?<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

    We just started training in August 2021 and we still have to run training trials outside the research environment. We\u2019re working with a search and rescue group called GEA, who are based in Turkey, a country that\u2019s prone to earthquakes. We\u2019re hoping that by next year we\u2019ll be able to take the rats to Turkey for trials there, but in terms of going to real disaster sites \u2013 real collapsed buildings \u2013 it\u2019s very difficult to tell.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

    \u201cFor these projects it costs, on average, around \u20ac6,000 to fully train one rat so they\u2019re ready for operations\u201d <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n

    APOPO\u2019s landmine research started in 1998, and its first operational trials were in 2003\/4. Our tuberculosis detection research began in 2003, and the rats began operating in 2007. <\/p>\n\n

    For these projects it costs, on average, around \u20ac6,000 [approximately \u00a35,175] to fully train one rat so they\u2019re ready for operations. <\/p>\n\n

    We\u2019re currently training seven for search and rescue, although they have to take turns using the backpack \u2013 we\u2019ve only got one at the moment! <\/p>\n\n

    <\/div>
    \n
    \"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

    DR DONNA KEAN<\/strong><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Donna is a behavioural researcher at APOPO, training rats to search for and rescue earthquake survivors.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n\n

    IMAGES: APOPO X5<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Researchers have successfully trained rats to detect landmines, sniff out tuberculosis and even drive cars, but their next challenge \u2013 to find survivors in collapsed buildings \u2013 could be their bravest yet 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have successfully trained rats to detect landmines, sniff out tuberculosis and even drive cars, but their next challenge \u2013 to find survivors in collapsed buildings \u2013 could be their bravest 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