Birds know what they can get away with and learn very fast too. A fake devise has limited staying power. A bio acoustic system made in Saint Marys, GA has had astounding result in tests on crop fields,landfills and most recently on cell towers. It confuses birds ability to navigate. They don't like it, leave immediately, return to find the same disruptive tone, leave again, finally they learn not to waste their energy. Airports require an enormous amount of liability insurance for such tests to take place. It would work far better than a fake bird that never attacks it's prey.
2
Impressive. Special feeders may not be as effective as a bird of prey, mechanical or not, if we are able to place bird flock detectors strategically. Just wondering what is it that attracts birds to airports...in spite of the noise.
I recently added ADSB to my airplane. If the Robobird had ADSB In, it would know where nearby airplanes are located and could avoid them on its own.
1
Another strategy used in Fairbanks Alaska is to provide a giant bird feeder in the form of Creamer's Field where barley is spread out every spring migration to lure the birds away from the airport. Has been very effective and provides a great opportunity to see all the birds in one place.
1
I don't think we give other species enough credit intellectually. I frequently watch birds pester and provoke red tail hawks, which are predators and much larger than them.
I hope it works, but I imagine that after a few jabs and up close observations, they will figure out that this strange flying thing is not a threat.
Presumably the falconers don't have to wear those fancy leather sleeves when working with drone falcons. Great, two more steps back from the real world, first the one back for the artisan who no longer can make those sleeves and the falconer whose only connection to the drone is to change its batteries. And people wonder why they feel lonely and bored.
1
The engineering on this is incredible - like Boston Dynamics level incredible.
Kudos to people using technology to help rather than to mine consumer data or spy on allies.
5
How about mechanical fire-breathing dragons next? We can't be too far away from it, and that should keep the flying organic critters away. Plus, Game of Thrones fans will have some added entertainment for their transportation dollar when they look out their airplane windows. And all lifeforms involved get prepped for the next step into our future. Just wait.
1
Remember William Shatner in the Twilight Zone freaking out when he thought he saw a monster on his airplane's wing messing with the engines? Now everybody can share that panic. No need for in-flight movies anymore.
1
I would have appreciated more on how the 13 years of effort became the product we sww in the video. Flapping machines are an incredible engineering challenge and I think that in itself is a story.
I would also enjoy a follow up on the trial once data is available. I imagine that there are some secondary indicators prey associates with raptors hunting (e.g. flapping vs soaring) that might end up being important. Things like noises and smells, off the top of my head, but I will admit to not even being the least bit an ornithologist.
6
Fascinating. Might this concept work as well to scare birds away from wind turbines? Here in the west and elsewhere turbines are a major threat to birds especially as we expand this green energy source. Might drone technology be a way to keep birds clear of turbine rotors?
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This is what I immediately thought of as well. It's a case of hazardous bird objects (birds vs planes), versus objects hazardous to birds (wind farms vs birds.) Of course, jet engines are hazardous to birds also. But they imperil human lives, which is the main concern for aircraft. In either case this is encouraging news for a problem that has long plagued aviators, and wind farms.
I conjecture that if Robirds were used to divert birds from wind farms, it would have to be done peripherally, for it is the in-draft of the turbines that draws birds in, and there's no reason to believe Robirds would do any better than real birds.
Labor intensive? Yes, possibly. But 'labor intensive' is another term for 'job creator.'
1
This is a very clever idea.
I strongly recommend the following which would be cheaper, more effective and would work all year long in all weather conditions.
I recommend using very large speakers strategically placed around the airport grounds where pesky birds frequent and congregate. The taped sounds of various predatory birds including falcons, eagles, etc. can be played when birds are observed.
The recordings of the predatory birds can be altered in volume, pitch and speed. For example, the recordings could be lowered in pitch and speed such that they are playing the sound of the largest predatory bird that the wandering Canada geese or any other bird have ever experienced.
This would be cheaper to operate and would produce desired outcomes. This could clear airports of pesky birds and would not kill them.
5
Every so often - use a real raptor.
The birds will then be less able to become habituated to the robot.
18
That is a great idea.
2
And why, exactly, are Canadian Geese still a protected species when there are hundreds of thousands fouling (!) golf courses and parks, making ball playing fields unusable and, of course, posing a hazard to aviation? Canadians are wonderful folks; their geese, not so much.
4
Sorry to be picky, but I hear this all the time and it's wrong: They are not "Canadian" geese unless they live their lives in Canada. They are "Canada geese." It's just their name. Like "Canada thistle"- I think Canadians call it something like "wavy-leaved thistle."
14
I agree,Kathy. But then again,
you and I have never eaten France Fries, either.
5
To be precise, the noun "Canada" in Canada geese is actually a noun adjunct, that is, a noun that serves as an adjective to modify the noun after it. I.e., a noun adjunct is a noun that qualifies another noun, for example, "college" in college student.
3
This is how technology is supposed to work.
Congratulations on solving a problem, and removing a threat.
5
Neat Idea!
However I bet the real birds will realize quite quickly that this is not a real falcon.
2
This project is genius, but it's not the only one.
If I may introduce readers to Erin Kennedy, one of the many roboticists trying to solve environmental problems. After she invented a Robobird toy, she invented a robot to help pick up plastic bits on beaches to save wildlife. Her projects have attracted the attention of NASA. I thought everyone would be interested in seeing the diversity of projects young people are creating to undo the damage of my generation.
This is the best dump truck robot you've ever seen. His name is Bowie. You might want to do an article on this.
http://www.robotmissions.org
10
This is impressive on several different fronts. First, the engineering feat of building a flying, functioning mechanical 'bird' is mind-boggling. Second, the idea of conditioning future generations of birds to stay away from airport habitats is brilliant. And lastly, it is rare that a newspaper article about aviation is comprehensive, technically accurate, and not sensational.
41
Thank you! The people quoted in this article are all good explainers and very patient!
2