As humanity continues to ponder if workers across the globe will lose their jobs and be replaced by automated robots, it appears that we are not the only ones threatened by the new technology.
New Zealand farmers have started using drones outfitted with speakers that imitate dogs’ barking in order to herd and monitor livestock.
Radio New Zealand reported that robots have not replaced dogs entirely, but they have appropriated one of the animal’s most potent tools: barking. On the other hand they are learning how to cooperate with drones and work alongside them.
A New Zealand Shepherd, Corey Lambeth, told reporters that drones are surprisingly working effectively.
“That’s the one thing I’ve noticed when you’re moving cows and calves that the old cows stand up to the dogs, but with the drones, they’ve never done that,” Lambeth said.
He also added that the drones move livestock faster, and with less stress than the dogs do.
The dogs that have been used for ages by farmers around the world to herd livestock, still have an advantage due to their ability to work in harsh weather conditions when drones cannot, at least for the time being.
