If you’re talking about somewhat creepy robots, chances are that Boston Dynamics pops up somewhere in the mix.

The last time we spoke about their robot dog, Spot, it was good news, with the technology being employed to assist in the fight against COVID-19.

A robot dog, fighting a global pandemic – good boy.

A robot dog replacing the noble sheepdog? No, I won’t stand for it.

New Zealand firm Rocos has recently partnered with Boston Dynamics, and one of the focuses is using technology to simplify agriculture.

This from The Verge:

“Equipped with payloads like heat, LIDAR, gas and high resolution camera sensors, Spot navigates rugged environments to capture data in real time,” says the company in a blog post.

“In agriculture, farmers can access information such as more accurate and up-to-date yield estimates. This provides access to a new category of automation, and a safer, more efficient business.”

Now, it’s clear that the video is mostly a fun teaser rather than a serious claim by Rocos (or Boston Dynamics) that robots will soon be replacing sheepdogs. But it does invite a tantalizing question: if that did happen, how well would the robots fare? It’s not like the danger of biting off more than you can chew has deterred tech companies in the past.

OK, the video might be a “fun teaser”, but not everybody is impressed.

Let’s see the video, with the herding taking place from around the 45-second mark:

A big no thanks from me, with my vast experience of having never herded anything, but also a big no from sheep farmer and author James Rebanks:

“The robot might be an amazing tool for lots of things but it is worthless and unwanted as a sheepdog,” Rebanks told The Verge. “No one who works with sheep needs or wants this — it is a fantasy.”

Rebanks says robots simply don’t have the motor skills or the intelligence needed for such demanding work, and they likely won’t for a long time to come.

“Moving sheep isn’t just being behind them, it is about doing whatever the controller asks, and sometimes what needs doing based on [the dog’s] own intelligence beyond the handlers control,” he says. “A shift to the left or right of a few inches can turn the sheep, and a great dog can judge their characters and how much to do or not do.”

Take that, robots.

Rebanks went on to say the relationship between the sheep and the dog cannot be replicated with technology, and is “rooted in the evolutionary history of predator and prey”.

In fact, he’s really unimpressed with the whole idea:

“If you watch carefully the sheep are breaking and taking the piss out of it — within a week they would be laughing at it,” he says. “Sheep have intelligence and will quickly work it out and completely disrespect it.”

Laughed off the paddock.

Dog one, robot dog zero.

Plus, you can’t blame a fart on a robot dog.

[source:verge]