Making a robot mouse to interact with laboratory mice

A team of roboticists at the Beijing Institute of Technology, along with two colleagues from the Technical University of Munich, have designed a new type of mouse robot that can interact socially with real lab mice. This robot is made in such a way that it shows behaviors similar to real mice and can communicate with them naturally.

According to Tekna Technology News Media Service, this research group has explained how they used artificial intelligence to train a mouse robot to show behaviors similar to real mice. In this research, the Chinese team used feedback loops and AI-based reinforcement learning to make the rat robot skilled enough to trick and interact with real rats. This research is a great innovation in its kind.

In the real world, robots have yet to reach the level of capabilities of the humanoid robots we see in science fiction movies. However, this research shows that scientists are seriously working on robots that can display complex social behaviors. In this project, the Chinese team has tried to build a robot that is able to trick laboratory rats and make them interact with it. These efforts seem to have paid off and the new robots interact naturally with real mice.

Previous research has shown that the behavior of mice can change from aggressive to playful. For example, rats in stressful situations may fight with each other, while in calmer situations, they exhibit behaviors such as play and petting. For this reason, in order for robots to deceive rats, they must be able to perform various behaviors in a natural and convincing manner.

A deep learning artificial intelligence program has been used to simulate mouse behavior in the robot. These robots are trained by watching videos of real mice performing their normal behaviors. The result of this process was that the robots were gradually able to learn how to interact with real mice, and after exposure to them, they consistently used positive reinforcement to improve their behavior.

Tests showed that the mouse robot is well accepted by real mice. The rats responded to the robot’s behaviors as expected. For example, when the robot appeared to be angry, the mice trembled in fear, and during calmer moments, they played and wrestled with the robot. This research shows that the new robots can be used as tools to study social interactions and examine the emotional states of laboratory mice. To see other news, visit the scientific news page.