AI-Powered Robot Rat Socializes with Real Rodents in Labs

Researchers at the Beijing Institute of Technology and the Technical University of Munich have developed a rat-like robot capable of socially interacting with real lab rats. Using AI and reinforcement learning, the robot mimics rat behaviors, such as aggression and playfulness, to convincingly engage with real rats. The study, published in Nature Machine Intelligence, suggests these robots could be used to study social interactions and emotional states in lab rats.