BYU

Trained to find survivors during earthquakes, APOPO's HeroRATs got a boost from BYU engineering students who helped design localization trackers that can be worn by rats who assist in search and rescue efforts.

With incredible intelligence and a sense of smell that make them ideal collaborators, East African Savanna pouched rats are being trained by the humanitarian organization APOPO to identify landmines, to detect tuberculosis, and now to help find earthquake victims in the rubble of buildings.

After meeting the rats, the students spent weeks developing a system that integrated visual odometry, an inertial measurement unit and machine learning into a Raspberry Pi computer small enough for a rat to carry. The system stores valuable data that the rat is trained to bring back to the rescue team.

https://news.byu.edu/byu-engineering-students-design-new-wearable-tech-for-search-and-rescue-rats-yes-rats