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Seems like a pretty good use case for an automated robot like this. It's nice to see a practical use-case for these advanced autonomous robots that doesn't invo
by jacurtis 3y ago
Seems like a pretty good use case for an automated robot like this. It's nice to see a practical use-case for these advanced autonomous robots that doesn't involve war.
So as I see it, this is like a fancy all-terrain Roomba. They dress it up like a Fox or Coyote and it wanders around and patrols the airport grounds, scaring away birds and generally preventing them from nesting in the area. Birds aren't going to nest in areas with active predators. So if this looks like an active predator making constant patrols, then birds will just go somewhere else to roost.
Ultimately it saves the birds from being killed by planes or euthanized by other means. They are not harmed with this patrolling robo-fox, it just adds intimidation factor.
Presumably, the robot will also be smarter than a Roomba and would know to avoid running onto the runway or other critical areas.
- mock-possum 3y agoBetcha it won’t take long for the birds to realize the robot is no threat.
- wrycoder 3y agoThey, and the deer, will tend to be in the runway area to avoid the “dog”, which will stay off the runways.
- throwup238 3y agoIt doesn't take very much to permanently scare a bird away from a nest they're in the process of building. They're much more sensitive to threats when establishing a nest.
- usrusr 3y agoDepends on the species. Ever met pigeons?
- throwup238 3y agoI was actually thinking of pigeons/doves when I wrote that. Every year I get several nests around my property and if I get too close before there are chicks, the pigeons abandon the nest. I have to carefully track them to figure out which nests belong to mockingbirds and which ones belong to pigeons so I can chase the former away and let the latter do their thing.
- usrusr 3y agoMine were happily doing their thing even while I started the same balcony. Eventually I started sterilizing their eggs by cooking and placing them back (they do leave for a few minutes when actively shooing) and after a few failed clutches they are noticeably less eager to try again in that place.
- throwup238 3y agoHave you tried scaring them away before they lay the eggs or is it the same result? I never noticed eggs in the nests that were abandoned (I would put them in an incubator if I did) The term "pigeon" refers to the whole Columbidae family with over 300 birds so YMMV. Mine are specifically mourning doves which are different from the pigeons I associate with cities (feral domesticated rock doves)
- eric-burel 3y agoIn France pigeons are protected and you have to let them nest (more precisely you can't move the nest once it's there and you cannot harm the eggs)
- zh3 3y agoDepends on the bird. I once tried a remote doorbell on a bird table to scare off large birds (pigeons); by about the third press they learnt to ignore it. In this case could be geese, which seem more cautious (then again if it's corvids, they'll probably figure out how to reprogram the robot).
- AnarchismIsCool 3y agoDepends on the season, if it's spring the geese will just kill the robot.
- brippalcharrid 3y agoI imagine that for any small-to-medium sized avian a ~100lb robot could very easily become a threat.
- Eric_WVGG 3y agookay but why not, just, use dogs or coyotes not joking. Dogs can be trained. Coyotes… just set up some feeding pens full of carrion at either side of the airport, and set up some doors that open at intervals (there, scratched that robot itch).
- mistrial9 3y agothe noise is way too harsh for dogs at many times of operation?
- Tutitk 3y agoIt is very expensive to train a dog and maintain its training. Like $50k starting price and $20k every year after. Dogs are incredibly stupid, they like to step in front of moving vehicles. Very bad for airport runways...
- elliottkember 3y agohttps://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-QxZv_wJ1aA https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-QxZv_wJ1aA Airport bird dogs are already a thing. Seems like a dream job for a dog. But you need a full-time handler, a car, a kennel, training and eventually a replacement. They can’t work 24/7, and if they are out sick for a day the birds are back. Essentially the argument for any kind of automation. This comment is like looking at a scarecrow, and saying “why not just go and stand out in your field all day?” And feeding wild coyotes unlimited food, near people, comes with its own set of problems.
- jjtheblunt 3y agoI mean you can treat the coyotes like dogs on meth, considering they do exist as pets. That is, i thought just what you wrote but with no need to have extra carrion.
- robocat 3y agoPerhaps because you don't want planes hitting coyotes on the runway. You especially don't want to be the person responsible for a dog-strike. Don't mess with the FAA nor the SPCA nor the unions.
- tamimio 3y agoIt’s not autonomous and it is not smart, you are giving a lot of credit for an expensive toy.