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MacArthur Genius Creates Remote Control for Cows

Ranchers have used GPS technology to monitor cattle movements and location for years, but Daniela Rus, an MIT scientist and 2002 MacArthur Fellow, has set the stage for a revolution in animal husbandry by designing a new device similar to a headset that “whispers” wireless commands to cows (and potentially dogs, cats and hamsters) to make them move as desired across a landscape. The new technology gives the headset user enough control to corral a herd of cattle remotely.

Dean M. Anderson, an animal scientists at the Department of Agriculture’s research service, pioneered the new technology with Rus and a team of engineers at MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Anderson thinks the technology will eventually be affordable enough to deploy for a range of applications, ranging from livestock feeding to directing the movements of wildlife species and even household pets from remote locations.

The new technology involves an electronic Ear-A-Round device, which is essentially a doughnut-shaped stereo headset worn over each ear. Anderson’s headset design and his knowledge of range animal ecology have been combined with the MIT scientists’ electronics skills in robotics and mobile computing.

Prior to working with MIT, Anderson developed a virtual fencing system called Directional Virtual Fencing that directed cows with “left” and “right” sensory signals, which used irritating noises to control their movement. The MIT team has developed a small scale remote-controlled DVF device that relies on solar-power. The circuit board contains a processor, data storage, WiFi for remote communication, audio and electrical stimulation electronics, a GPS receiver, and sensors such as magnetometers and accelerometers that record the body orientation and configuration of the animal.