Russian Engineers Build Drone to Herd Stray Cows
Moscow aerospace engineers have created a UAV that scans vast areas, identifies livestock, and transmits precise coordinates to operators.
The Moscow Aviation Institute (MAI) has developed a drone designed to monitor cattle on pastures and survey large territories, the institute’s press service reported.
The drone takes off vertically before transitioning to horizontal flight. It can launch and land almost anywhere and continue operating for long periods, even in poor weather. Developers see applications in agriculture, wildfire monitoring, and search-and-rescue operations.
According to project participant Oleg Ananyev, a student at MAI’s School of Aerospace, the drone’s key advantage is that a single set of engines powers all phases of flight. This reduced the aircraft’s weight, simplified its structure, and boosted energy efficiency.
The team has already trained a neural network to detect cows that stray from a herd. In the future, it can be adapted to recognize other objects as well, making the system flexible for multiple use cases.
Plans also include building an autonomous takeoff-and-landing station, allowing the UAV to launch on schedule and return to base for recharging.
