Research (rats?)
 

Greetings!

Yes - I've searched the threads, and I have found nothing related. I am a scientist who studies behavior - mostly using rats. Much of my research involves variations on Pavlovian conditioning - I present stimuli to the rats, then either present food or not, and I monitor the rats' responses to the stimuli. There is much more to it than that, but at a surface level that is what's going on.

Rats tend to approach and interact with stimuli that predict food. An N800, mounted in the wall of an experimental chamber, might make a great panel for both the presentation of visual stimuli, and the recording of the rat's response. I can easily envision a script that presents images (perhaps different images on each half of the screen) and tracks the rat's contact with the screen, _if_ the touchscreen is sensitive enough. Does anyone know if the N800 (or any of the other NITs) has ever been used in this manner? Of course once I have the proper screen protector and the willingness to risk my N800 I can try this myself, but I would prefer to know about others' success (or failure) before I try.

How about it? Has anyone used these touchscreens with rats or other nonhuman animals?

Thanks in advance!

-tip184

[Mods - please move this to a different section if appropriate.)

Re: Research (rats?)
 

It will probably get dirty and breaks down pretty soon. You want something more industrial.

Re: Research (rats?)
 

I have worked with rats, too (I'm a clinical pharmacologist).
I think the screen might be sensitive enough for that; though, I'd cover it with a easy disposable clear plastic sheet, because rats paws and nails could scratch it quite quickly. You could try several types of sheets, from those for projections to those for plastic bags.

The exploded view could be as such, seen from above:

---------------------------------------------
| N800 |
____-------------------------------____ |

========================= sheet
__________| hole in wall |__________
| |
| Cage (rats) |
| |

Let me know your progress :)

Re: Research (rats?)
 

The n800 serves as a great perch, but that's about all I know.
http://imgur.com/pt5bw.png
You might want to use a separate camera to the n800, something that can watch exactly what they're trying to do on the screen - it might be a bit of a learning curve before they learn to use the touchscreen.

Once they have learned that, make sure you disable openssh - those little guys are smart and you've just given them network access.

Re: Research (rats?)
 

You could always have the N800 above and out of reach and use a mirror below to reflect the image. If the rat runs over the mirror it could have a pressure sensor below it to activate a response.

Or something similar you could use a button. Regardless, i'd keep the rat away from the device haha.

Re: Research (rats?)
 

Thanks to all 4 responders.

debernardis - this is exactly what I had in mind.

codeMonkey - thanks for the pic. Watching the rat will be essential, at least early on.

horus - your suggestions are good, but using a mirror and separate pressure-sensitive plate or switches defeats the purpose. The N800 could be a self-contained system for stimulus presentation and response recording, without using the additional equipment. Now If only I could get it to dispense sugar pellets.

fms - the industrial equipment designed for this sort of task is very expensive - that's what I'm trying to avoid.

Thanks again to all. As I develop this idea (perhaps through the summer) I will keep the forum updated.

- tip184

Re: Research (rats?)
 

I think you might want a touch sensitive screen instead of a pressure sensitive screen here.

Re: Research (rats?)
 

It is going to be difficult to make a simple interface to dispense food pellets, but it can emit high frequency sounds, and quite loud too :eek:

Re: Research (rats?)
 

Not knowing anything about rats, but

I think my N800 would definitely react to rats walking on it unless they were good at distributing their weight. Would probably react to rats leaning against it with paws, if they do such a thing. Not entirely convinced though. The bigger contact surface, the more pressure required before it registers. That's why the stylus is pointy.

Keep in mind that the reported touch point will be the average of the pressure exerted on the screen.

There seems to be huge variation in the touch sensitivity between individual N8x0 units too...