(Photo: Australian Center for Field Robotics)
Mammas, you won't have to let your babies grow up to be cowboys anymore. Robots will do that work.
Roboticists at the University of Sydney designed and tested a remote-controlled robot that can herd cattle. The advantage of the robot is that it moves slowly, permitting the cattle to move at a reduced pace and thus decrease the likelihood of injury through overexertion. Human cowboys in 4-wheel drive vehicles, in contrast, tend to rush and occasionally hit cattle while herding them.
The roboticists plan to include autonomous programming in future versions, as well as the capacity to provide security, soil sampling and calving monitoring.
-via Technabob