‘Sheepdog robot’ herds birds away from flight paths

Scientists have equipped a drone with a new algorithm to herd birds without human input, saving aeroplanes and birds alike. Continue reading

video: https://youtu.be/9wn-qjk_pOE

Robotic Herding of a Flock of Birds Using an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

Abstract:

In this paper, we derive an algorithm for enabling a single robotic unmanned aerial vehicle to herd a flock of birds away from a designated volume of space, such as the air space around an airport. The herding algorithm, referred to as the m -waypoint algorithm, is designed using a dynamic model of bird flocking based on Reynolds’ rules. We derive bounds on its performance using a combination of reduced-order modeling of the flock’s motion, heuristics, and rigorous analysis. A unique contribution of the paper is the experimental demonstration of several facets of the herding algorithm on flocks of live birds reacting to a robotic pursuer. The experiments allow us to estimate several parameters of the flocking model, and especially the interaction between the pursuer and the flock. The herding algorithm is also demonstrated using numerical simulations.

https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8424544/?reload=true