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I suspect the birds would eventually ignore the drones unless the drones are made to pose an actual physical threat to them. City pigeons are so accustomed to c
by pluto9 8y ago
I suspect the birds would eventually ignore the drones unless the drones are made to pose an actual physical threat to them. City pigeons are so accustomed to cars and humans that they barely move out of the way in time to avoid being crushed.
- onemoresoop 8y agoThe drones would chase the birds away. And in cases when the birds are to be sucked by a jet's engine the autonomous drone would follow suit
- pluto9 8y ago> The drones would chase the birds away. Chasing requires fleeing. If the bird knows from experience that the drone won't hurt him, then why would he flee from it?
- LeifCarrotson 8y agoBecause he's a bird?
- pluto9 8y agoIt is not obvious to me that a bird will flee from anything that approaches it, regardless of past experience, simply "because he's a bird". See above about city pigeons. Or aggressive geese at the park. Or birds that get sucked into jet engines because they apparently don't consider a jumbo jet to be an obstacle worth avoiding, hence this conversation.
- oh_sigh 8y agoEven city-dwelling pigeons have a personal space bubble that they will try to protect if possible. It may be just a foot or two but it is still there.
- pluto9 8y agoThe smaller that bubble gets, the greater the chance of a drone actually striking a bird, which could become a major legal liability [1]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Migratory_Bird_Treaty_Act_of_1918 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Migratory_Bird_Treaty_Act_of_1...
- oh_sigh 8y agoI'd imagine airports could get a waiver to pursue the birds for human safety. Airports are generally well acquainted with working with the government.
- TomMarius 8y ago> Or birds that get sucked into jet engines because they apparently don't consider a jumbo jet to be an obstacle worth avoiding, hence this conversation. The problem there is that the bird has no time to react. Planes are way faster and actually suck air.
- onemoresoop 8y agoChasing the birds in circles
- onemoresoop 8y agoOr maybe the drone could be equipped to zap birds with some small electrical charge. They'd learn the lesson quickly
- SmellyGeekBoy 8y agoAircraft have beacons to stop them flying into each other, I'm not sure why they wouldn't design the drones to be able to detect them.
- spacenick88 8y agoWell sheep have been herded by dogs for millennia and I think it's pretty rare that they actually hurt any sheep.
- pluto9 8y agoThose sheep are domesticated and a social hierarchy exists between them and a specific dog or group of dogs. I don't think we can look at that situation and extrapolate that a flock of wild birds will "obey" a random flying robot that they know to be nothing more than a harmless nuisance. Come to think of it, birds don't even make enough of an effort to avoid existing aircraft that are large, loud, and do pose a threat to them, which is why these drones are being developed in the first place.
- jdmichal 8y agoThere are several types of sheepdog, and some do nip at livestock to keep them motivated. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herding_dog#Herding_behavior https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herding_dog#Herding_behavior
- severine 8y agoI'm resisting with great strength to clicking that link, but now I know it exists! Oh boy, there goes a future evening...
- chrisamiller 8y agoNot sure why this is grey - many animals adapt to their environments very quickly. If all the drones are doing is buzzing the birds, they may very well learn to ignore them.