In an effort to quiet his loud pet parrot, a
robotics student has created what must certainly be one of the most complex
devices ever to be operated by a bird. The "Bird Buggy" lets the
parrot roll safely around the house — and keeps his beak occupied.
Andrew Gray, an engineering graduate student at
the University of Florida, set out to make a device that would stop Pepper, his
parrot, from screaming all the time. Deterrents didn't work: A robotic squirt
gun ended up just being a scream-activated bird bath; meanwhile, a device
that rattled loudly when Pepper squawked was just ignored.
Gray noticed that Pepper was calmer when they
were in the same room. Of course, a big bird like a parrot can't really be
allowed to fly around a house willy-nilly. So Gray built the Bird Buggy, a little scooter with a perch
for Pepper and a joystick the bird can operate with his beak.
Now Pepper can navigate the house at a
reasonable pace; The scooter has bumpers that respond to collisions by backing
up, and an IR sensor that prevents Pepper from ramming anything too
hard. The device uses a camera and computer vision system to automatically
return to a docking station when not in use. There's even newspaper set down
for the inevitable mess.
Pepper is remarkably deft at controlling the
platform: In the video, he moves purposefully and avoids obstacles, and appears
(as much as such a thing can be observed in a bird) to be enjoying it. And the
best part is that, what with all the pushing and pulling of the joystick,
he doesn't have a chance to make as much as a peep.
More information on Gray and his Bird Buggy can
be found here; the program at which he built it is the University of
Florida's Intelligent Machines Design Lab.
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