How about just getting a god damn dog you lazy ass imbeciles.
Barking drones used on farms instead of sheep dogs
61–70 of 76 posts
Re: Barking drones used on farms instead of sheep dogs
#62The drone in the picture has a maximum 27 minute flight time, and requires manually changing batteries, manually launching it. Not exactly something you'd want to sit around doing all day. Livestock guardians do not necessarily have to be dogs. Three llamas living with a herd of sheep will provide a great deal of defense against coyotes and mountain lions.
> Livestock guardians
This is New Zealand.
The only thing that eats mammals here (apart from the local humans) is Austrosimulium (australense or ungulatum).
Re: Barking drones used on farms instead of sheep dogs
#63NZ cracked the robot sheepdog back in the 70s https://youtu.be/T1cmPNYb5Ko
I think that was actually using stolen Australian technology.
Re: Barking drones used on farms instead of sheep dogs
#64How about just getting a god damn dog you lazy ass imbeciles.
Could you please not post unsubstantive comments to Hacker News?
Re: Barking drones used on farms instead of sheep dogs
#65As someone who grew upon a (hobby)sheep farm, this seems to miss the point. A good sheep dog is already an autonomous "drone".
How autonomous? Mild example: our collie would frequently herd the sheep into the barn even before we realized the weather was turning.
Extreme example: a Great Pyrenees moved into our farm from a neighboring farm that didn't have any herd animals. The neighbors just gave us the dog after the third time it moved in to our farm.
Re: Barking drones used on farms instead of sheep dogs
#66Oh no how could anyone foresee this happening? We don’t UBI for dogs!
I know your comment is a joke but, if drones become a thing for herding then we'll just see less sheep dogs bred. This happened with sheep in the US after WW2. Other fibers had been introduced into the market which reduced wool demand.
Re: Barking drones used on farms instead of sheep dogs
#67Poor sheep. They will have nightmares from the high-decibel drone of a drone. Will probably start getting genetic changes in their wool from the stress. Why disturb nature with that buzzing annoyance?
Re: Barking drones used on farms instead of sheep dogs
#68Just so that everybody is on the same page: https://youtu.be/IGo32RICjk8 The bar for sheep herding robots is ridiculously high. Border Collies are super smart.
Obligatory: https://youtu.be/vGOGOxtN2lM
(Welsh herdsmen put lights on sheep and play “pong” on a sloped hillside after dusk with the help of border collies.)
Re: Barking drones used on farms instead of sheep dogs
#69I was already on the fence about replacing humans with robots for e.g. driving, but dogs? Why would anyone want to replace dogs with robots? Worst trade ever.
Dogs cost a lot to maintain, think about Vet expense and Food. Lithium batteries simply need electricity.
And a lithium mine, somewhere.
Re: Barking drones used on farms instead of sheep dogs
#70I was already on the fence about replacing humans with robots for e.g. driving, but dogs? Why would anyone want to replace dogs with robots? Worst trade ever.
I give it a year before the enemy realized the flying wolf-thing has no teeth. Animals arent stupid when it comes to the predator-prey relationship. It is an old game.