Rats and humans interact in virtual reality experiment

According to a BBC news report, a group of European researchers has created a virtual reality system that allows lab rats and humans to interact via equivalent level avatars in real time.

According to the publication, the project, called BEAMING, combines virtual reality technology with teleoperation systems, creating digital projections of individuals remotely and allowing physical interaction between participants.

Virtual interaction

During the experiment, a group of participants was encouraged to participate in a game in a virtual environment by controlling an avatar through specially designed test equipment. In another laboratory, 12 kilometers away, the researchers mapped the movements of mice, translating their trajectories into images that were projected into the same virtual environment occupied by humans.

Human participants interacted with animals, not always being told that avatars were actually controlled by mice. Similarly, mice also interacted with avatars controlled by human participants.

According to scientists, the experiment may help in studying animal behavior, allowing researchers to interact with and observe animals more closely and from a completely new perspective. In addition, technology can also allow humans in the future to explore distant or potentially hazardous locations without having to take risks or make any real displacement.