droneherder

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  • Max Rossi / Reuters

    Autonomous drones can herd birds away from airports

    by 
    Mariella Moon
    Mariella Moon
    08.08.2018

    Drones aren't usually allowed to go near airports unless they serve a purpose, like herding flocks of birds away from the airspace where they could put planes full of people in jeopardy. Manually controlled drones can be unreliable, though: If the operator gets too aggressive and spooks the birds, the flock could scatter and become even more unmanageable. That's why a team of researchers from Caltech have developed an algorithm that teaches unmanned aerial vehicles how to autonomously (and effectively) herd birds away from airport airspace.