Wolf bot to help scare wildlife away from farmers’ crops
Wolf bot to help scare wildlife away from farmers’ crops
Chikao Umezawa, head of JA Kisarazu-shi, shows Super
Monster Wolf in Kisarazu, Chiba Prefecture.
The Yomiuri Shimbun 7:53 pm, August 02, 2017
KISARAZU, Chiba — A wolf-like robot to drive away wild
animals that cause damage to agriculture has been introduced on a trial basis
in Kisarazu in southwest Chiba Prefecture.
According to the agricultural cooperative association JA
Kisarazu-shi, the 65-centimeter-long, 50-centimeter-high robot is almost the
same size as an adult wolf. Named Super Monster Wolf, the robot is covered by
fur and is baring its fangs.
The robot detects wild animals with an infrared ray
sensor when they approach and intimidates them, flashing the red LEDs of its
eyes on and off, and blaring 18 types of sounds in rotation, including a wolf’s
growl, a human voice and a gunshot. The agricultural cooperative borrowed the
robot for free from a Hokkaido company that developed it to keep away bears and
deer.
A Kisarazu city government official said there have been
no signs of wild animals or birds nearby since Super Monster Wolf was installed
on July 11.
The Hokkaido company will start manufacturing the robot to
order in September. Each will retail for about ¥200,000 ($1,811.00).
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