Rise of the Machines: Robotic Hunters in Swamps

[Tuckerfan]

You are Zarah click whirr zee Ivorybilled Voodpecker?

Deep in the bayous of eastern Arkansas, two robotic video cameras keep vigil for an elusive bird, aiming to capture conclusive evidence the ivory-billed woodpecker is not, as long feared, extinct.

Recent sightings have revived hope of the survival of the large and dramatically marked bird, with its characteristic white beak and red crest.

Now the search is on for proof – something scientists hope the robot video cameras can provide.

The cameras are part of a new project funded by the National Science Foundation to create automated observatories that can capture natural behavior in remote settings.

“Our idea is that robots can be useful for advancing science,” said University of California Berkeley professor Ken Goldberg, speaking at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in San Francisco.

I guess the idea is to make damned sure that if something’s thought to extinct, it stays extinct! :eek: