The next time you see a rat crawling in your basement, it may not be as innocent as you would think. Perhaps it’s your neighbour spying on your inventory? Or the CIA checking whether you are planning terrorist activities!
Scientists have found a way to send signals to a rat’s brain and thus controlling its movements. A backpack receives radio signals sent from a nearby laptop (up to 500m away) which are sent to electrodes implanted in the rat’s brain. The brain recognises this small electrical stimulus and interprets it as an object touching its whiskers.
Sending signals to the electrode which in the part of the brain which handles information from the right whisker makes the rat turn right. With a second electrode for the left whisker, the scientists can make the rat turn the way they want it to.
Another electrode is connected to the part of the brain which makes the rat feel pleasure. A signal to this part tells the rat its going the controller want it to.
See more about it in this video:
The scientists plan to use it to locate survivors of earthquakes or make them find land mines. With their small size and low weight, they would fit into any heap of rubble and wouldn’t trigger a mine.
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