On the Internet, Nobody Knows You're a Rat

New virtual reality experiment lets people and rodents control interacting avatars.

By Gregory Mone
May 13, 2013 7:28 PMNov 12, 2019 4:20 AM
VR-helmet2.jpg
UCL

Newsletter

Sign up for our email newsletter for the latest science news
 

[This article originally appeared in print as "Getting the Rat's-Eye View."] 

Rats are among the most studied creatures on the planet, but scientists typically observe them at a distance. Now humans can interact with rodents on equal terms, thanks to a mind-bending experiment conceived by virtual reality pioneers Mel Slater and Mandayam Srinivasan. 

The experiment, described in a recent paper in the journal PLOS One, consists of two real locations plus one virtual environment: a lab in Barcelona; a 1-foot-wide arena in an animal care facility seven miles away; and a virtual version of that arena online. 

In the Barcelona lab, a human participant straps on high-definition goggles to see the virtual arena through the eyes of an avatar, or digital double. When he turns, his avatar turns; he can move his double forward and back using a hand-held remote.

Jay Smith/DISCOVER

The participant’s movements are also transferred to a baseball-size robot in the tiny arena seven miles away. The robot, in turn, shares that space with a free-roaming laboratory rat. Cameras track the rat, and software transfers the animal’s movements to a second digital human within the virtual arena, accompanying the participant’s avatar. 

“The rat’s positions and orientation are represented to the human as if it is another human,” Srinivasan explains. The rat, meanwhile, interacts with the robot in the real world.

The unusual experiment could be an opportunity for scientists to glean new insights into rat behavior, but a recent test run revealed an interesting human quirk. When participants were fooled into thinking that a human — not a rat — was controlling the other avatar, they gave it more personal space. 

“We maintain our distance between people,” explains Slater. He and Srinivasan hope this technology could allow humans to interact with animals in their natural environments, giving scientists closer-than-ever insight into how they behave.

1 free article left
Want More? Get unlimited access for as low as $1.99/month

Already a subscriber?

Register or Log In

1 free articleSubscribe
Discover Magazine Logo
Want more?

Keep reading for as low as $1.99!

Subscribe

Already a subscriber?

Register or Log In

More From Discover
Recommendations From Our Store
Shop Now
Stay Curious
Join
Our List

Sign up for our weekly science updates.

 
Subscribe
To The Magazine

Save up to 40% off the cover price when you subscribe to Discover magazine.

Copyright © 2024 Kalmbach Media Co.