Sheep herding with drones in Ireland

[dragon]

A constant rallying cry for drone technology seems to be: “Anything you can do, drones can do better.” Sheepdogs, this includes you.

New footage shows us how a drone can be put to use herding sheep in the rolling hills of Ireland. Like many videos showcasing utilitarian uses for drones, this one also purports to be the first example of a sheep-herding drone. Paul Brennan, whose company specializes in aerial photography for farmers, captured the film. He nicknamed the drone “Shep.”

‘Shep’ in Action

The film shows the flock of sheep turning and altering course every time the buzzing drone gets a bit too close for their comfort. With a few twists and turns, however, Brennan successfully funneled the flock, about 120 sheep strong, through a narrow gate opening and into a new grazing field.

Across the pond, the UK has progressed toward integrating drones into their airspace, and the number of drones working in British airspace continues to grow. British delivery firm FPS Distribution, for example, recently completed the first test drone delivery, beating out Amazon’s delivery drones in the UK. Amazon has gone on record to criticize the United States’ stringent commercial drone regulations.

The United States’ sluggish pace to regulate commercial drone use is good news across the pond where drone regulations are more open.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=yD9KUB7QqZI[/youtube]

“For commercial growth, it probably does provide an opportunity because companies can do more [in the UK], so they can gauge more of the market and the likely impact,” Ravi Vaidyanathan, a senior lecturer in robotics at Imperial College London, told the BBC last week.

Drones on the Farm

Herding sheep is just one potential job for drones back on the farm. Drones can be used to survey fields for flood and insect damage, water crops or spray fertilizers and insecticides. Farmers can save a lot of time and money by sending a drone into the air rather than paying for helicopters or airplanes. If you want to see how drones are changing agriculture, be sure to pick up the first issue of Drone 360 and look for Steve Sweeney’s article “Planting Seeds.”

Despite Shep’s sheep-herding success, this is probably not a technique that will take the industry by storm. The National Farmers’ Union in the UK didn’t think the idea would “take off.” Rather, they predicted that drones would be of more use checking in on animals to make sure they’re safe.

So, not to worry border colllies — your jobs are safe for now.

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[salm]

The name of the drones lets me conclude that besides herding sheep it also carries nucular warheads and a cochlear implant.

[Broomstick]

What IS up with Shep these days? Haven't heard from him in ages. I hope he's doing alright.

[General Zod]

What IS up with Shep these days? Haven't heard from him in ages. I hope he's doing alright.

He ragequit/got banned from the board ages ago.

[Elheru Aran]

Was it an actual bannination though, or was it more of a de facto thing? Can't say I recall as I wasn't around then... (or to be more exact, I was absent, but same thing)

[Simon_Jester]

I think it was de facto.
_____________________

One concern I don't think is being addressed with drones is safety. Having large numbers of robot vehicles flying around at or below treetop level on various missions from private owners is problematic in a number of ways.

Will the drones respect private property lines or will they regularly be crossing my property's "airspace" en route to other destinations?

Will drones that have sensors capable of violating privacy be clearly labeled and kept away from people's homes?

How are we going to handle liability issues caused by carelessly operated or carelessly piloted drones? To what extent will the drones be functional without supervision, and what consequences are likely when they fail while acting in a role that has no human around to notice anything's gone wrong?

[Dartzap]

Aye, I think he vanished in a puff of thermonuclear logic.

[Sea Skimmer]

Shep left of his own accord because of the level of bullshit this place was generating for him. Any other claim is false. He's working and alive and still visits and scans archives when he has time.

As for the actual topic, people did this a good while ago, problem is most of the drones on the market only have 15-20 minutes of power which is okay for a small pen, but a bit of a limitation on a lot of farms. And it means the cheaper drones aren't ready to say, replace manned helicopters for herding cattle on open ranges, which is a role where drones could save a lot more money, not to mention pollution, then replacing sheep dogs I suspect.