The ‘whiskered’ robotic rat is the recent successful multinational project of nine participating countries that will be an inspiration to robotics fanatics and other researchers and most especially to human situations in which it will be deemed helpful. Experts from Europe, the U.S. and Israel were part of the project with their intention of imitating nature through the principles of active sensing of the living creatures in the animal kingdom. With the development of innovative touch technologies, the robotic rat can be used in locating and identifying moving objects. Its practical use can be best appreciated in case of places with poor lighting, where the presence of the robotic rat can sense any object that is moving.
Although in the past, according to Prof. Ehud Ahissar of the Weizmann Institute of Science’s Neurobiology Department, the touch design of artificial intelligence has been overlooked, this time the robotic rat will dispel that belief.
Based on reports, rats belong to the group of nocturnal creatures that reside in poorly lighted places and use their senses, particularly of the sense of touch as their way of seeing things as they learn and receive information about their surroundings.
It was found that the rat’s whiskers are helpful in exploring their environment and these are, in some way related to their effective means of identifying their surroundings.
Scientists believe that as they tap the deeper understanding of the animal’s sense of touch, they will be able to invent robots that can imitate their movements and put them to effective use in our daily life.
Source: Physorg.com
