From: J. R. Molloy (jr@shasta.com)
Date: Wed Nov 28 2001 - 18:06:47 MST
Robots Birddog Pooping Pigeons
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,48514,00.html
By Daithí Ó hAnluain
CORK, Ireland -- A barrage of bird guano has inspired two 18-year-old student
engineers from Northern Ireland to develop a tech high-wire act to stop
pigeons' stools.
Dazed, dazzled and highly addled birds could become a feature of Northern
Ireland's landscape if their recently invented robot is developed
commercially.
The guano-buster, called a Self-Sustained Induction Deferrer (SID),
precariously patrols high-voltage wires to prod starlings and other birds from
their perch. Bird guano is an environmental menace, and Northern Ireland
Electricity (NIE), which sponsored the research, receives up to 40 complaints
a month.
The poop is essentially a semi-solid concentrated form of urine known as uric
acid, which wreaks havoc on stone and car paint and can even discolor bronze.
In Vienna, Austria, nets are employed on bronze monuments to protect the
ancient artworks.
Guano also creates a hygiene risk. "Birds are very, very efficient carriers
and vectors of disease," said Dr. Tom Kelly, college lecturer at the
Department of Zoology in University College Cork.
"For example, they are very efficient vectors of influenza. It's possible that
a bird could transmit influenza to a human. And because they can fly over huge
distances they can carry these agents with them. One incident, for example,
was in the Antarctic where influenza among researchers was attributed to the
arrival of migratory birds."
Birds can also be a menace physically. In Florida, turkey vultures have
damaged Low Level Windshear Alert Systems (LLWAS) close to Fort Myers Airport,
and they pose a constant threat to aircraft. Birds have been responsible for
bringing down aircraft -- they were cited as a possible cause of the recent
American Airlines Flight 587 crash in New York two weeks ago.
The students' solution is a robot that clasps onto high wires and trundles
along, prodding birds off the lines. It's armed with a stroboscopic light and
a loud siren designed to daunt the most shiftless and sanguine of starlings.
The really clever bit is the power source. The duo dismissed the inconvenience
of frequently replacing batteries, and in Ireland solar power was strictly a
non-starter. Instead the device uses electric induction to get power from the
high-voltage wires themselves. It does this by turning itself into a large
split current transformer in combination with the power line.
Judges in the recent Young Engineers for Britain competition were so impressed
they made the device the overall winner. Now it's undergoing further tests and
refinements to see if it's effective in real life. Their achievement is all
the more remarkable given their tender age when they first looked into the
project -- just 17.
"I was searching about for a suitable project for the Northern Ireland Young
Engineers competition about two years ago," says Kieran McGeown, head of the
technology department at St. Patrick's College and mentor for the project. "I
discussed my needs with (Northern Ireland Electricity) and they gave me the
challenge of the design brief vis-à-vis the birds."
The school is no stranger to birds or tech competitions. In 2000, another St.
Patrick's team won the Northern Ireland Young Engineers competition with a
wireless device that monitors the core temperature of cooking chickens.
"We looked at what (bird deterrents were) available at the time," says Brendan
Quinn, 18, who now attends Queens University, Belfast. "We found out what
worked and what didn't and we based our final design on that."
Partner Enda Young takes up the story: "We broke down available products into
physical, audio and visual. We had intended to put spikes on the SID, and we
may do it in the future. We're also looking at making it wireless, so
engineers can send it to the end of the line if they need to do any repairs or
whatever."
But it still has to prove itself. "The problem is habituation. At the end of
the day, birds are clever and they learn very quickly if something is not a
threat," said Kelly. There are worries that the jaded birds of Northern
Ireland might quickly become bored with the boisterous newcomer.
While the students recognize the ability of birds to habituate themselves,
they believe their robots' movement along the line will prove sufficiently
effective. "We've experimented with a starling distress call, the stroboscopic
light and a siren, but we think the robot's movement along the line will chase
them away," said Young.
In the meantime, tests will continue and their project will be representing
Ireland at The World Science and Technology Fair, to be held in Louisville,
Kentucky, in May 20, 2002.
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