Brainy Scarecrow Shoos Away Birds

May 16, 2006— A computerized scarecrow could be the next defense against predatory birds at fish farms.

The Intelligent Scarecrow, designed by computer science and engineering students at the University of South Florida in Tampa, uses a computer, Internet camera and imaging software to detect birds around fish ponds.

In response, the Scarecrow issues loud noises or powerful bursts of water to scare the birds away.

In Florida, fish farming is a $42 million industry. Farmers go to great lengths and sometimes expense to keep fish-eating birds at bay. Deterrents include everything from tethered balloons, netting and bird-chasing dogs to propane cannons, pyrotechnics and motion-sensitive sprinklers.

But most methods are limited in effectiveness, expensive or loud. The Intelligent Scarecrow adds another weapon to the arsenal.

Dressed in a football helmet and baggy jersey, the machine looks like a scrawny fourth-stringer. But it is brains, not brawn, that make it a threat.

The helmet conceals an Internet-enabled video camera that takes in a wide field of view, which can be accessed via a Web site. A microprocessor with image processing software written by the students scans for color and shape differences between frames.

If the software sees bright orange, it will not trigger a response. So a farmer wearing a bright orange vest can tend crops without being seen as a threat.

But other changes trigger sprinklers to the right and left of the scarecrow to shoot out powerful jets of water up to 30 feet.

The device can also blast loud sounds — such as a shotgun noise or the cry of a predatory hawk — through nearby speakers. And because it's Internet-enabled, the scarecrow can send a text message to a cell phone or an email to a computer alerting the farmer of threats.

"As far as the bird is concerned, this thing is intelligent," said associate professor Ken Christensen, who oversaw his students' development of the Intelligent Scarecrow.

Although innovative in concept, the scarecrow may have a long way to go before it stands post over a pond, said Craig Watson, director of the Tropical Research Laboratory at the University of Florida in Ruskin.

"The area it would cover is not practical with a 10- to 100-acre fish farm," he said.

And unless the scarecrow can move around regularly, the birds will become accustomed to it and no longer see it as a threat.

Christensen and his students are now working to extend the scarecrow's predator detection range and water-spraying accuracy and range.

The machine placed in the top 30 of the Windows Challenge contest sponsored by Microsoft. In June, the students will travel to Redmond, Wash., to see if their scarecrow makes the cut.