Robotic dog going on patrol at U.S. airport to scare off wildlife
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A dog-like robot is being tested to spook wildlife at Alaska’s Fairbanks International Airport while disguised as a coyote or fox.
The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities on Friday posted a video on Instagram of the robo-dog.
The agency named it Aurora, calling it the department’s “new hire.” The department said the robot would be based at the Fairbanks airport where it would “enhance and augment airport safety and operations.”
In the video, a headless, insect-like robot roughly the size of a large dog with a colourful exterior scrambles over rocks, climbs stairs and appears to dance, flashing green lights.
But not everyone who saw the post was a fan. “We do not want to see surveillance robot dogs here, even if they are chromecoloured,” one user commented.
“I’ve seen this episode of Black Mirror,” another wrote, referencing a dystopian science fiction show that explores humanity’s relationship with technology. “It doesn’t end well.”
The use of robots by government agencies has become more common but also has led to skepticism and controversy. New York City’s police department recently retired a 400-pound robot the agency had planned to use as a roving surveillance camera in the Times Square subway station, sparking questions from privacy rights advocates. Last year, Portland police rolled out an autonomous security robot for street surveillance. The Anchorage Police Department has a robot it uses as part of its bomb squad.
In Alaska, remote technology is being used more broadly by state agencies to monitor earthquake and avalanche damage and road conditions, to respond more quickly to natural disasters and to aid in search and rescue efforts, according to Ryan Marlow, a program manager with the Alaska Department of Transportation.
The Alaska Department of Public Safety has no plans to use robots as a surveillance or more general public safety tool in Alaska, agency spokesman Austin McDaniel said. Law enforcement agencies in the state currently use small drones or robots to help disable bombs and assist with search and rescue missions, but DPS has no plans to implement autonomous robots for other uses, McDaniel said.
The Alaska transportation department’s robotic dog has a different purpose. Aurora’s main job at the airport will be to discourage birds and other wildlife from settling near plane infields by imitating predator-like movements, according to Marlow, who said the robot is currently being tested for that use.
The robot, a product of Lower 48 company Boston Dynamics, cost about $70,000 US and was funded by a $2-million federal grant, received by the state transportation department and wildlife biologists with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Beginning this fall — at the start of migratory bird season — the plan is for the robot dog to patrol an outdoor area near the runway every hour to try to help prevent harmful encounters between planes and wildlife, particularly waterfowl, according to Marlow.
The robot had replaceable panels that would allow Aurora to eventually be disguised as a coyote or fox, he said.
“The sole purpose of this is to act as a predator, and allow for us to invoke that response in wildlife without having to use other means,” Marlow said during a joint session of the Alaska House and Senate transportation committees last week.