Researchers have developed a robotic rat that is able to imitate rat behavior well enough to to be accepted by the real thing. The AI-powered robo-rats were able to have appropriate social interactions with real rats in a laboratory setting. According to New Scientist:
"[The] robotic rats have similar appearances and movements to animals, and even the same odour," says Qing Shi at the Beijing Institute of Technology in China. "It has become an important tool for exploring individual or collective rats' behavioural responses."
The robotic rat, which Shi and his colleagues developed, has two front arms, a bionic spine capable of bending into many different body postures, and wheels instead of hind legs to boost the robot's speed. They also used the artificial intelligence to train the robot to mimic real rat behaviours, including aggressive pinning, playful pouncing and social sniffing or nose touches. To increase the chance that the robot rodent was socially accepted, the researchers also coated it in rat urine.
One suggested practical application for the robotic rats is providing social companionship for lab rats.
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