Scientists Tempt Their Fate With Robo-Squirrel

[donutsweeper]

AMHERST, Massachusetts (AP)  --  One gray squirrel, its bushy tail twitching, barked a warning as another scrounged for food nearby.

It was an ordinary spring day at Hampshire College, except that the rodent issuing the warning was powered by amps, not acorns.

Dubbed "Rocky" after the cartoon character, the robo-squirrel is working its way into Hampshire's live-squirrel clique, controlled by researchers several yards away with a laptop computer and binoculars.

Sarah Partan, an assistant professor in animal behavior at Hampshire, hopes that by capturing a close-up view of squirrels in nature, Rocky will help her team decode squirrels' communication techniques, social cues and survival instincts.

Comments

[rustydog.livejournal.com]

CREEPY! Heh.

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

Oh that's brilliant! Weird but brilliant!

Do you think we could use it to keep squirrels off bird feeders? Maybe it could be programmed to wallop them if they came too near...

[phoenix64.livejournal.com]

This is indeed begging for intervention by Murray.

[the-dark-side.livejournal.com]

Dude, as if real squirrels weren't creepy enough.

[mad-jaks.livejournal.com]

The BBC has 'log cams' and you guys get roboSquirrel?

GAH I really must cap SuperSquirrel soon!