Robot Shepherd Deployed to Watch Over Tibetan Antelopes

China’s surveillance state has arrived at the remote Hoh Xil area plateau of Tibet, although it’s not citizens being watched. Here conservationists are using a robot dressed up like an antelope to spy on the local herds.

The robot – doe-eyed and thick-furred – is bulkier and not as graceful as the real thing, but it has successfully become part of a herd in a trial run. The scientists operating the beast remotely believe they can now  collect more accurate images and data on the Tibetan antelope.

Photo credit: Liu Silu / Xinhua

The antelope (Pantholops hodgsoni), a near-threatened species, are generally skittish when humans (or even aerial drones) get too close. “They will run away as soon as they see someone from a distance – even 500 to 800 meters away,” Lian Xinming, a researcher who participated in the recent trial, tells Xinhua. “A close encounter can induce stress, and can even cause miscarriage in pregnant females.”

That would be bad, since thousands of female antelopes gather at Zonag Lake every summer to give birth. Much of the antelopes’ habitat is at an altitude over 15,000 feet, where the air is too thin for human development (probably a good thing). 

The bionic interloper, built by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese firm Deep Robotics, is equipped with a 5G communications system and artificial intelligence. Underneath the thick coat of fur is Deep Robotics’s X30 quadruped robotic dog, which is designed to perform in hazardous, harsh terrains.

It is unclear whether the bot-a-lope is supposed to approximate a gender. We’re assuming female, since antelopes tend to organize in harems with one male servicing up to a dozen wives and it’s unlikely the bot is up to that task. Rutting season – from November to December – could be interesting. Or horrifying.

This short clip shows the robo-shepherd in action.

Photo credit: Jiao Xufeng