Life-saving robot is the rat's whiskers

A robot rat that senses objects with its whiskers might eventually scurry through smoke-filled buildings to help rescue people, according to its inventors.

A team of scientists has created the ScratchBot (Spatial Cognition and Representation through Active TouCh), which uses its plastic whiskers in a sweeping back and forth motion to find its way round, much like a real rat. The robot is part of an effort to develop biologically inspired artificial intelligence systems by researchers from the Bristol Robotics Lab and the University of Sheffield.



Nocturnal creatures often use touch, rather than sight, to explore and navigate their surroundings. Rats are especially good at using their whiskers to determine the position, shape and texture of objects and build up mental maps of their environment.

The ScratchBot's 18 whiskers move back and forth five times per second. When a whisker bends, a sensor on its shaft signals software to turn the robot toward the object. Whiskers close to an object move less, while those farther away make wider sweeping motions to establish the object’s exact edges.



The new whisker technology has the potential to be used underground, in collapsed mines, under the sea, or even to help vacuum cleaners sense their way round a room and verify which surfaces they are on.

Dr Tony Pipe, of the Bristol Robotics Lab, said: “Whisker technology could be used to sense objects and manoeuvre in a difficult environment. In a smoke-filled room for example, a robot like this could help with a rescue operation by locating survivors of a fire."

There's a lot more information about whiskered robots, with more video, here.