Rats are being trained for search and rescue in earth quake regions

We support one of the areas Apopo is training its rats: land mine detection.

Following a natural disaster expertly trained search and rescue teams quickly mobilize to locate and bring out victims trapped inside collapsed buildings. However their efforts and their ability to navigate through the debris can be slow. Due to their size and agility, our rats can uniquely complement existing search and rescue efforts.

The backpack will enable real-time communication from within the debris site. The combination of trained rats and a technology-enabled backpack would exceed current search technologies to focus rescue efforts quickly and efficiently. Trained rats with smart back packs could also be used for other detection tasks such as the inspection of packed shipping containers.