Roboticists at the Beijing Institute of Technology and the Technical University of Munich have developed a so-called rat robot to interact socially with real rats.

The team used artificial intelligence (AI) to train the robot rat to behave much like a real rat. Specifically, feedback loops were used in conjunction with AI-based reinforcement training to imbue the robotic rat with social skills strong enough to fool the real rats into interacting with them.

The team took information from earlier research that demonstrated the behavior between rats can be aggressive or playful, and taught the robotic rat to do both convincingly.

To accomplish this, the team developed an AI deep learning app and then trained the robot using a video of real rats interacting with each other. Eventually, the robot rat learned how to behave when in the company of other rats.

Further, the rat robot, with its cart-like body that featured wheels instead of feet and legs, can be twisted and turned like a real rat, as well as move its head like a real rat.

Trials of the robot showed that it was accepted by real rats, responding as expected to the robot's playful and aggressive behaviors. The researchers concluded that the rat robot can potentially be used as research agents for studying social interactions as well as modulate the emotional states of real lab rats.

An article detailing the robot rat, “Modulating emotional states of rats through a rat-like robot with learned interaction patterns,” appears in the journal Nature Machine Intelligence.

For more on the rat robot, watch the accompanying video that appears courtesy of Guanglu Jia et al.