Fox and Dog Defense With Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning

[Al Gerhart]

This is pretty innovative. Can you point it skyward and protect from winged predators?

The people on this site are very helpful and a great place to beta test. Back in 2011 our feeder started out in this very way. The feedback was invaluable and it remains a very valuable research tool to keep up with what problems people are facing and how to improve a product.

I think you are going to find that the price levels mentioned so far are going to prevent much interest for most. You will need economy of scale, and suffer through the first few thousand sold at a loss while you invest in the equipment needed to manufacture your device at a price that the public will pay. You might wind up like we did, being forced to open up an overseas shop just to build a complex enough feeder to do the job and still be able to keep the price low enough to provide a mass market. Then the Chinese virus attack happened, luckily we had kept our U.S. operation mothballed just in case so consider that risk or keep a huge inventory to carry you through two years.

Anyway, great idea!

Now if you can connect this to a shark with a frigging laser beam on its head you got a winner.

 

[AGeese]

6) What other features would make this more interesting to you?

An impact lawn sprinkler

 

[puckpuck8]

Hello! I'm a software engineer from the Midwest who has started several companies with a focus on mobile devices, gaming, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence.

Everything changed with covid closing down the office... My wife and I bought a 15-acre farm last year, started a flock, and are becoming full-time farmers.

...But that hasn't stopped me from creating software and automation solutions!

Check this out:
View attachment 2719117

This picture was sent to my phone last week by an automated fox detection system I designed!

We've seen this guy four times in the past. He has killed almost all of our neighbor's chickens, but we've been lucky enough to scare him off from our girls.

I was extremely stressed out over this fox, obsessively checking the chickens every 30 minutes, and decided to do something about it: I used my experience in machine learning to build a fox and dog detection device! It's a water-proof box about 8" by 4" with a little Raspberry Pi computer inside.

Using the latest advances in neural AI object recognition, it constantly analyzes a video feed from a built-in camera, looking for anything shaped like a dog.

When it sees a dog or a fox, it sounds a high-pitched alarm, activates a strobe light, take pictures, and sends text messages to my phone. It does all of this locally within the device, so it doesn't require any outside services or subscriptions, or even internet (except for the text messages). It works daytime or night, and has a response time of about 2 seconds upon detection.

It's a completely closed system that requires no technical knowledge, hardware, or professional installation. You literally just plug it in and point it where you want a fox alarm, and it works out of the box. It broadcasts a wifi signal which you connect to with your phone or computer for setup -- No app is required.

I've shown this project to several people who own chickens, and all of them have demanded that I build them one, right this minute.

I believe that a kickstarter campaign is probably the best way to proceed, which is why I've made this post! I really enjoy this community and have found it to be invaluable over the last year. I'd love to have your thoughts before I get started:

1) How interested are you in this -- Is it unnecessary, interesting, or a must-have?

2) What price would be too expensive? (This helps determine hardware goals)

3) How important is it to be solar powered with a battery backup? Would you pay $125 extra for this option?

4) How important is it to have cellular mobile for text message alerts, instead of wifi? Would you pay $100 extra for this option?

5) It can be configured to detect people, bears, cars, cats, bicycles, plus 60 other things. How interested would you be in using this for intruder detection, such as people and vehicles?

6) What other features would make this more interesting to you?

Have you sold any of those devices yet? Are the buyers finding great results?

 

[Yevesman]

Do you use bait on your hot wire? For bears and dogs I use peanut butter. For bobcats and foxes, I wire a tiny wire "burrito" containing a chunk of canned mackerel onto the hot wire. The mackerel eventually dries out, and I just leave it to do its job. Once a predator inspects the bait with tongue or nose, it's the last time they will be interested in your chickens as the pain supersedes any interest they might have in your chickens.

I think your AI computer surveillance is terrific, but baiting your hot wire will save you a lot of effort running out to defend you flock. It will "teach" even when you aren't there.

This sounds really cool! Details? How do you ensure it doesn’t hurt collaterals like innocent birds? Thanks

 

[Cold-Blood]

This sounds really cool! Details? How do you ensure it doesn’t hurt collaterals like innocent birds? Thanks

If the bird isn't grounded, it won't get shocked. Are you thinking more like chickens/turkeys?

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Sounds possibly useful for a person with no dogs of their own and, as others have said, if they are home all day and can respond to the alarm. I do have dogs (fox-sized Shelties) and am not always home, so .... obvi, not practical for me. I am impressed with what you've done, however.
Nice work.

 

[Yevesman]

If the bird isn't grounded, it won't get shocked. Are you thinking more like chickens/turkeys?

Both chickens as well as just passing birds. Don’t want to hurt any bird just the bloody fox

 

[azygous]

The electric shock is a pulse. While it delivers a lot of voltage, it is a "zap" not a deadly current. I've watched my rooster "fight" with the wire, getting a shock each time he attacked it. The shocks seems to enrage him, and also the hen he hated was on the other side of the wire. Sometimes I doubt the smarts of this roo.

 

[Al Gerhart]

The electric shock is a pulse. While it delivers a lot of voltage, it is a "zap" not a deadly current. I've watched my rooster "fight" with the wire, getting a shock each time he attacked it. The shocks seems to enrage him, and also the hen he hated was on the other side of the wire. Sometimes I doubt the smarts of this roo.

"the hen he hated was on the other side of the wire." I had to clean the desk top after spewing coffee out of my nose after reading that part. Misogynistic rooster, I bet there is a story behind that part.