A flying robot inspired by peregrine falcons offers a non-lethal method for scaring flocks of birds from crop fields
Technology
6 June 2022
Starlings in flight Dennis Jacobsen / Alamy
A flying robot inspired by a male peregrine falcon can scare away flocks of birds in fields within 5 minutes of flying over and keep them away for up to four hours, on average.
Birds can eat crops on farmland or damage aircraft at airports if they collide with them by accident. As a result, several methods have been developed to deter them from congregating at these sites. These include traditional scarecrows, recordings of bird distress calls or lethal approaches involving guns or trained birds of prey.
Now, …