Robotic falcons and eagles mimic predators to keep pests away from airports and farms
- A company in the Netherlands has designed robotic birds of prey for pests
- Called Robirds they mimic real falcons and eagles to scare other birds
- They are remote controlled by an operator on the ground and like real birds they flap their wings to stay in the air
- The Robirds are 3D printed from glass fibre and nylon composite
- They can apparently withstand being flown straight into the ground
- Up to 75 per cent of birds have been scared off in some areas using them
- Trials of the Robirds are continuing into next year
The Robirds project is being developed by Clear Flight Solutions in The Netherlands.
They actually have two Robirds in development; the smaller Falcon and the larger Eagle, for small and big birds respectively.
Both mimic their real-life counterparts to fool regular birds into thinking they are true birds of prey.
A company in the Netherlands has designed robotic birds of prey for pests. Called Robirds (shown) they mimic real falcons and eagles to scare other birds. They are remote controlled by an operator on the ground and they are 3D printed from glass fiber and nylon composite
The Falcon robot has a body length of 23 inches (58 cm) and a wingspan of 47 inches (120 cm) and can fly up to 50 miles (80 km) per hour.
The larger Eagle model, meanwhile is twice as long and has a wingspan of 86 inches (220 cm).
To stay in the air the Robirds flap their wings just like regular birds.
While they are remote-controlled for now, the team hope to eventually make them autonomous.
The birds are 3D printed using glass fibre and nylon composite material, which is strong enough that they can be crashed into the ground without breaking.
They are then painted to make them look as realistic as possible.
In an interview with Wired , creator Nico Nijenuis explained how making the Robirds actually fly through wing power alone was difficult, as we still dont truly understand how wings work.
He was also keen to make sure they not only looked like birds of prey but moved like them as well, in order to scare off pests.
If it doesnt look like a predator, they dont care. And if it doesnt move like a predator, they dont care either, he said.
Its creators claim that they can reduce bird numbers in an area by 50 per cent, scaring them into thinking they are the target for a bird of prey.
Other birds also will think they are in the nesting ground of an active bird of prey, so they may not return to the area.
Full Article: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2743272/Is-bird-Is-plane-No-s-ROBIRD-Robotic-falcons-eagles-mimic-real-predators-pests-away-airports-farms.html
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It's amazing what the 3D printers are able to make.
Gonna' need a 3d car wash.
It really is.
I read somewhere that someone used 3-D printing to make parts for a handgun-- he then assembled it and it worked! (Of course that raises some legal issues). Also, I think they are using 3-D printers on space stations--its easier & much cheaper to print needed replacement parts than to carry them up by rocket.
Actually there are 2 rapidly advancing technologies here-- 3-D printing and robotics.