From Wyoming's Cowboy State Daily, September 6:
Could robots replace real Wyoming cowboys? Researchers are building cattle-herding and other ag industry robots that could transform livestock management across the American West. But real wranglers on horseback say they're irreplaceable.
The future of ranching might rumble across Wyoming's sagebrush on tank tracks, equipped with cameras and sensors instead of spurs and lassos.
At Mississippi State University, researcher Marcus McGee has been testing a 4-foot-by-4-foot robotic platform called the Warthog that can herd cattle with surprising effectiveness.
The results from his trials at the university's Bearden Dairy Research Center suggest that autonomous herding technology could soon supplement traditional cowboys and sheepherders.
"This is not replacing the human aspect of livestock agriculture," McGee told Cowboy State Daily. "This is purely utilized as a workforce multiplier."
But the assistant clinical professor in the Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences acknowledged the broader implications of his work.
"Everything comes down to trying to make it think more like a cowboy,” he said....
....MUCH MORE
There's probably a joke in that last line but I'm too tired to tease it out.
Also at Cowboy State Daily, this time September 9:
Young Male Moose Tries To Mate With A Wooden Moose In Montana
If this keeps up the Bozeman (MT) Daily Chronicle's police reports are going to have some competition:
- Police reports: Jackhammers on Oak Street, more pigeon control, stolen necklace
- Police reports: Car insults, skunk traps and air guns
- Police reports: Hot tub party, noisy rooster and biking under the influence
Those are from the last three days.
