The Alaska government has a new four-legged friend keeping migratory birds and other animals off the runways at Fairbanks International Airport: a dog-shaped Boston Dynamics robot nicknamed “Aurora.” The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities posted its “new hire” on instagram.com/reel/C40fIzALRaZ”>instagram last monthsaying the robot will be tested to “improve and increase airport security” by trying to prevent dangerous encounters between aircraft and wildlife.
Addressing the Alaska House and Senate Transportation Committees March 19th, robot manipulator Ryan Marlow said the agency opted to test Aurora after plans to spray repellents such as grape juice from flying drones were considered too risky. According to Marlow, Aurora will begin work at the start of migratory bird season this fall, conducting hourly patrols near the runway.
The agency will also test how large animals like bears and moose respond to Aurora, and Marlow noted that the robot's panels could be replaced to make it look like a fox or coyote. “The sole purpose of this is to act as a predator and allow us to invoke that response in wildlife without having to use other means,” Marlow said.
“A border collie requires food, training, warmth and does not collect data for us.”
Marlow said Anchorage Daily News that using the robot, which was funded by a federal grant and typically costs about $70,000, was preferable to a real dog: “A border collie requires food, training, warmth and doesn't collect data for us,” Marlow said. “Instead of using explosives, poppers, Ariel sprays or chemicals, this is a non-lethal, non-chemical deterrent for wildlife mitigation.”
According to the Federal Aviation Administration database, 92 animal strikes were reported near Alaska airports last year. Aurora's test seems less outlandish than other wildlife deterrents, such as introduced pig herds. in Anchorage during the 1990s or in 2021 at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport – but some people on instagram are concerned about surveillance. Boston Dynamics's same quadruped robots have been tested globally for various military and law enforcement applications, and the New York Police Department has notably come under fire for its robot deployments in recent years.
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