Current:Home > InvestRobot disguised as a coyote or fox will scare wildlife away from runways at Alaska airport-LoTradeCoin
Robot disguised as a coyote or fox will scare wildlife away from runways at Alaska airport
View Date:2024-12-24 00:48:54
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A headless robot about the size of a labrador retriever will be camouflaged as a coyote or fox to ward off migratory birds and other wildlife at Alaska’s second largest airport, a state agency said.
The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities has named the new robot Aurora and said it will be based at the Fairbanks airport to “enhance and augment safety and operations,” the Anchorage Daily News reported.
The transportation department released a video of the robot climbing rocks, going up stairs and doing something akin to dancing while flashing green lights.
Those dancing skills will be put to use this fall during the migratory bird season when Aurora imitates predator-like movements to keep birds and other wildlife from settling near plane infields.
The plan is to have Aurora patrol an outdoor area near the runway every hour in an attempt to prevent harmful encounters between planes and wildlife, said Ryan Marlow, a program manager with the transportation department.
The robot can be disguised as a coyote or a fox by changing out replaceable panels, he said.
“The sole purpose of this is to act as a predator and allow for us to invoke that response in wildlife without having to use other means,” Marlow told legislators last week.
The panels would not be hyper-realistic, and Marlow said the agency decided against using animal fur to make sure Aurora remained waterproof.
The idea of using a robot came after officials rejected a plan to use flying drones spraying a repellent including grape juice.
Previous other deterrent efforts have included officials releasing pigs at a lake near the Anchorage airport in the 1990s, with the hope they would eat waterfowl eggs near plane landing areas.
The test period in Fairbanks will also see how effective of a deterrent Aurora would be with larger animals and to see how moose and bears would respond to the robot, Marlow told the Anchorage newspaper.
Fairbanks “is leading the country with wildlife mitigation through the use of Aurora. Several airports across the country have implemented robots for various tasks such as cleaning, security patrols, and customer service,” agency spokesperson Danielle Tessen said in an email to The Associated Press.
In Alaska, wildlife service teams currently are used to scare birds and other wildlife away from runways with loud sounds, sometimes made with paintball guns.
Last year, there were 92 animal strikes near airports across Alaska, including 10 in Fairbanks, according to an Federal Aviation Administration database.
Most strikes resulted in no damage to the aircraft, but Marlow said the encounters can be expensive and dangerous in the rare instance when a bird is sucked into an engine, potentially causing a crash.
An AWACS jet crashed in 1995 when it hit a flock of geese, killing 24 people at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage.
If the test proves successful, Marlow said the agency could send similar robots to smaller airports in Alaska, which could be more cost effective than hiring human deterrent teams.
Aurora, which can be controlled from a table, computer or on an automated schedule, will always have a human handler with it, he said. It can navigate through rain or snow.
The robot from Boston Dynamics cost about $70,000 and was paid for with a federal grant.
veryGood! (85)
Related
- Krispy Kreme is giving free dozens to early customers on World Kindness Day
- Kevin Porter barred from Houston Rockets after domestic violence arrest in New York
- Two Penn scientists awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for work with mRNA, COVID-19 vaccines
- A woman riding a lawnmower is struck and killed by the wing of an airplane in Oklahoma
- The Bachelorette's Desiree Hartsock Gives Birth, Welcomes Baby No. 3 With Chris Siegfried
- Pro-Russia hackers claim responsibility for crashing British royal family's website
- The Dark Horse, a new 2024 Ford Mustang, is a sports car for muscle car fans
- As America ages, The Golden Bachelor targets key demographic for advertisers: Seniors
- Surprise bids revive hope for offshore wind in Gulf of Mexico after feds cancel lease sale
- Clergy abuse survivors propose new ‘zero tolerance’ law following outcry over Vatican appointment
Ranking
- Noem’s Cabinet appointment will make a plain-spoken rancher South Dakota’s new governor
- Malaysians urged not to panic-buy local rice after import prices for the staple rise substantially
- Where are the homes? Glaring need for housing construction underlined by Century 21 CEO
- New video of WWII aircraft carrier lost in Battle of Midway haunts 2 remaining U.S. survivors: I loved that ship
- Detroit-area police win appeal over liability in death of woman in custody
- Powerball jackpot grows to estimated $1.04 billion, fourth-largest prize in game's history
- Jodie Turner-Smith Files for Divorce From Joshua Jackson After 4 Years of Marriage
- Brain surgery left TOKiMONSTA unable to understand music. Now every song is precious
Recommendation
-
Black and Latino families displaced from Palm Springs neighborhood reach $27M tentative settlement
-
Where RHOSLC's Monica Garcia Stands With Ex-Husband After Affair With Brother-in-Law
-
The UAE holds a major oil and gas conference just ahead of hosting UN climate talks in Dubai
-
Looks like we picked the wrong week to quit quoting 'Airplane!'
-
Pete Rose fans say final goodbye at 14-hour visitation in Cincinnati
-
Chicago woman, 104, skydives from plane, aiming for record as the world’s oldest skydiver
-
Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos' Many NSFW Confessions Might Make You Blush
-
Microsoft CEO says unfair practices by Google led to its dominance as a search engine