Can Shepard Robots Keep The Flock In Line?

Flock

When you picture sheep being herded what you picture is probably a man standing on a hill, while his faithful dog circles the flock back into a safe formation. What you probably do not picture is a man on a smart phone letting a drone do the work. Yet, that is exactly the vision of Marc-Alexandre Favier. Mr. Favier, who is currently a graduate student at Harper Adams University College, has designed a UAV that is designed to help herd and track sheep and cattle.

The UAV, or unmanned areal vehicle, is descend to help track and herd the sheep. The farmer can then see the action, or give the drone directions with the help of a smart phone app. For the time being the drone has been demonstrated in indoor conditions. There is no word on how it will deal with windy days. There have also been no tests to show exactly how the sheep or cows would respond to the drone. After all the sheep respond to dogs for one simple reason. They have teeth, and can drag them back to the flock if they have to.

Source: Daily Mail
Image: Morgue File