Robot Birds Deployed by Park to Attract Real Birds - Built By High School Students (wyofile.com)
(Sunday April 12, 2026 @11:34PM (EditorDavid)
from the birds-aren't-real dept.)
- Reference: 0181658272
- News link: https://news.slashdot.org/story/26/04/13/0115243/robot-birds-deployed-by-park-to-attract-real-birds---built-by-high-school-students
- Source link: https://wyofile.com/students-fabricate-randy-robo-grouse-whose-strut-could-save-birds-at-jackson-hole-airport/
"Robotic bird decoys are being deployed at Grand Teton National Park," [1]reports Interesting Engineering , "to influence the behavior of real sage grouse and help restore a declining population.". Robotics mentor Gary Duquette describes the machines as "kind of a Frankenbird." (SFGate shows one of the robot birds [2]charging up with a solar panel ... "Recorded breeding calls are played at the scene, with clucking and cooing beginning at 5 a.m. each day.")
Duquette builds the birds with a team of high school students, telling WyoFile that at school they " [3]don't really get to experience real-world problems " where failures lurk. So while their robot birds may cost $150 in parts, the practical experience the students get "is priceless."
> Spikes in the electric currents burned out servo motors as the season of sagebrush serenades loomed, Duquette said. "The kids had to learn the difference between voltage and amperage...." To resolve the problem, the team wired a voltage converter in line with the Arduino controller and other elements on an electronic breadboard. "We pulled through and got it done in time," he said...
>
> A noggin fabricated by a 3D printer tops the robo-grouse. Wyoming Game and Fish staffers in Pinedale supplied grouse wings from hunter surveys, and body feathers came from fly-tying supplies at an angling store. Packaging foam from a Hello Fresh meal kit replicates white breast feathers, accented by yellow air sacs...
The Independent wonders [4]if more national parks would be visited by robot birds ...
> During this year's breeding season, which runs through mid-May, researchers are using trail cameras to track whether real sage grouse respond to the robotic displays and return to the restored lek sites. If successful, officials say similar robotic systems could eventually be used in other national parks facing wildlife management challenges.
[1] https://interestingengineering.com/ai-robotics/robotic-sage-grouse-conservation
[2] https://www.sfgate.com/national-parks/article/robotic-birds-national-park-22192152.php
[3] https://wyofile.com/students-fabricate-randy-robo-grouse-whose-strut-could-save-birds-at-jackson-hole-airport/
[4] https://www.the-independent.com/tech/robot-birds-national-parks-b2955339.html
Duquette builds the birds with a team of high school students, telling WyoFile that at school they " [3]don't really get to experience real-world problems " where failures lurk. So while their robot birds may cost $150 in parts, the practical experience the students get "is priceless."
> Spikes in the electric currents burned out servo motors as the season of sagebrush serenades loomed, Duquette said. "The kids had to learn the difference between voltage and amperage...." To resolve the problem, the team wired a voltage converter in line with the Arduino controller and other elements on an electronic breadboard. "We pulled through and got it done in time," he said...
>
> A noggin fabricated by a 3D printer tops the robo-grouse. Wyoming Game and Fish staffers in Pinedale supplied grouse wings from hunter surveys, and body feathers came from fly-tying supplies at an angling store. Packaging foam from a Hello Fresh meal kit replicates white breast feathers, accented by yellow air sacs...
The Independent wonders [4]if more national parks would be visited by robot birds ...
> During this year's breeding season, which runs through mid-May, researchers are using trail cameras to track whether real sage grouse respond to the robotic displays and return to the restored lek sites. If successful, officials say similar robotic systems could eventually be used in other national parks facing wildlife management challenges.
[1] https://interestingengineering.com/ai-robotics/robotic-sage-grouse-conservation
[2] https://www.sfgate.com/national-parks/article/robotic-birds-national-park-22192152.php
[3] https://wyofile.com/students-fabricate-randy-robo-grouse-whose-strut-could-save-birds-at-jackson-hole-airport/
[4] https://www.the-independent.com/tech/robot-birds-national-parks-b2955339.html
Songbird Magnet (Score:2)
by TwistedGreen ( 80055 )
I used to have a "Songbird Magnet" (manufactured by Bird-X), which was just a speaker that would blast out purple martin song at scheduled times to attempt to get a colony to nest. It never worked for me, but surely that's all this needs to be? A box with a speaker in it and some rudimentary sensors? Why does it have to look like a bird?
But depressingly, maybe this is just a prelude to Blade Runner. "Do you like our owl?"
Life imitating art (Score:3)
This time, the birds really aren't real!
[1]https://birdsarentreal.com/pag... [birdsarentreal.com]
[1] https://birdsarentreal.com/pages/faq
So get this. (Score:1)
Robot birds are declining, so students built real birds, which attracts the robot birds? Incredible!!!
Re: (Score:2)
This was also partially the plot of that Hoppers film, but with beavers instead of birds.