Video: SCRATCHbot Robot Rat with Whisker Sensors [Fire Rescue AI Robot]

Thanks to the boffins at the Bristol Robotics Lab and the University of Sheffield, who have jointly developed the SCRATCHbot (which, incidentally, stands for Spatial Cognition and Representation through Active TouCh), those trapped in burning buildings could soon see themselves rescued by artificially intelligent robots that use sensory whiskers to navigate their way though the smoke in order to locate you.

The SCRATCHbot, which utilises whisker-like sensors inspired by the likes of rats to map and navigate its way around obstacles when visual based sensors would prove unreliable (smoke filled buildings and disaster zones being cases in point) could additionally pave the way for a new breed of AI robots that are capable of working in all manner of difficult working conditions – such as underwater and underground.

“Our project has reached a significant milestone in the development of actively-controlled, whisker-like sensors for intelligent machines,” said Professor Tony Prescott, of the University of Sheffield’s Department of Psychology. “Although touch sensors are already employed in robots, the use of touch as a principal modality has been overlooked until now. By developing these biomimetic robots, we are not just designing novel touch-sensing devices, but also making a real contribution to understanding the biology of tactile sensing.”

“Sensory systems such as rats’ whiskers have some particular advantages in this area. In humans, for example, where sensors are at the fingertips, they are more vulnerable to damage and injury than whiskers,” added Dr Tony Pipe, of the Bristol Robotics Lab. “Rats have the ability to operate with damaged whiskers and in theory broken whiskers on robots could be easily replaced, without affecting the whole robot and its expensive engineering.”

Of course, leaving aside the possible emergency and industrial applications such a bot could undoubtedly excel at, such technology could also see it into our homes in the form of robot pets and even, according to the team, in vacuum cleaners with the whiskers serving to sense floor textures and adapt its cleaning method automatically to ensure the optimum cleaning of varied surfaces automatically.

The SCRATCHbot, which you can see in action in the above video, is the result of six years of research stemming from a budget of some half a million UK pounds.

Daily Mail [Image Credit AP]