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Headless, dog-sized robot to patrol Alaska airport to prevent bird strikes

news.sky.com

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Re: Headless, dog-sized robot to patrol Alaska airport to prevent bird strikes

#41

Post by eric-burel »

usrusr wrote: post #20
throwup238 wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I 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.

Mine 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.

In 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)

Re: Headless, dog-sized robot to patrol Alaska airport to prevent bird strikes

#42

Post by pelagic_sky »

dumpsterlid wrote: post #7

You could definitely train a dog to do this and it would probably have a blast doing it all day. Not enough dog investors pushing dog-tech hype though. It is a shame though, have you ever read about what their noses can do??

Many airports in the states already employ full time dogs to clear birds.

Re: Headless, dog-sized robot to patrol Alaska airport to prevent bird strikes

#44

Post by TaylorAlexander »

_qua wrote: post #43

Purely as a piece of photography that second photo is very cool with the sharp focus and the snow in the air.

Ah yeah that one is nice! I did photo journalism in college and always appreciate good journalism photos.

Re: Headless, dog-sized robot to patrol Alaska airport to prevent bird strikes

#45

Post by TaylorAlexander »

tamimio wrote: post #33
wyldfire wrote: post #15

The photo from the article shows a pilot with controls (or technician with a monitor?). How autonomous is the robot?

Because it is not autonomous, it’s RC controlled. As long as you don’t see special sensors like lidars or cams, assume it’s not, and glad the article showed the guy too for the transparency.

I see at least 11 sensors in the top two photos of the article including 8 or 9 sensors on the front face of the robot and three sensors on the rear side mid body forward of the hind leg, which I assume is duplicated on the other side, so maybe 15 external sensors at least.

I also did photo journalism in college and these photos are from an AP News photographer. One of the things I learned in journalism class is to always try to get a person in your photo, as it helps humanize the story. So it may be an autonomous capable robot they showed in R/C mode for journalistic interest.

Re: Headless, dog-sized robot to patrol Alaska airport to prevent bird strikes

#46

Post by brippalcharrid »

mock-possum wrote: post #12
jacurtis wrote: post #3

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…

Betcha it won’t take long for the birds to realize the robot is no threat.

I imagine that for any small-to-medium sized avian a ~100lb robot could very easily become a threat.

Re: Headless, dog-sized robot to patrol Alaska airport to prevent bird strikes

#47

Post by tamimio »

TaylorAlexander wrote: post #45
tamimio wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because it is not autonomous, it’s RC controlled. As long as you don’t see special sensors like lidars or cams, assume it’s not, and glad the article showed the guy too for the transparency.

I see at least 11 sensors in the top two photos of the article including 8 or 9 sensors on the front face of the robot and three sensors on the rear side mid body forward of the hind leg, which I assume is duplicated on the other side, so maybe 15 external sensors at least. I also did photo journalism in college and these photos are from an AP News photographer. One of the things I learned in journalism class is to a…

These sensors aren’t used for autonomy, this one for example you can tell it is capable however https://www.cbsnews.com/news/robot-dogs-to-patrol-southern-b.... OP pic sensors are fpv cams and collision avoidance, so of you drive it to a wall, it will stop before hitting it.

> photos are from an AP News photographer. One of the things I learned in journalism class is to always try to get a person in your photo, as it helps humanize the story

Interesting, I didn’t know that, thanks for sharing it!

Re: Headless, dog-sized robot to patrol Alaska airport to prevent bird strikes

#50

Post by dumpsterlid »

pelagic_sky wrote: post #42
dumpsterlid wrote: post #7

You could definitely train a dog to do this and it would probably have a blast doing it all day. Not enough dog investors pushing dog-tech hype though. It is a shame though, have you ever read about what their noses can do??

Many airports in the states already employ full time dogs to clear birds.

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