Monday, August 6, 2012

Sheep collar 'cries wolf' with text message to shepherds

3 hrs.

Modern-day shepherds may?soon gaze at their smartphones instead of their flock thanks?to a high-tech?sheep?collar that sends a text message when a wolf attacks.

The collar is under development in Europe where wolves are making a comeback. In concept, it could be used as a replacement for sheepdogs, which are apparently more costly to maintain in a world where just about everyone carries a mobile phone.

In a recent trial, a heart-rate monitor similar to those worn by gadget-obsessed runners?was fitted to the collars of 12 sheep. When a pair of muzzled Czechoslovakian?wolfdogs attacked, the sheep's hearts jumped from around 80 beats per minute to 225.

The spike was sharp enough to warrant building a future version that will emit a repellant to drive away the wolf as well as send a text message to a shepherd, Swiss biologist Jean-Marc Landry ?from the Swiss carnivore research group Kora told The Telegraph.?

Field trials with the texting collar are expected to begin in this fall in Switzerland with a final prototype ready for testing in 2013.?

--Via Gizmodo, PhyOrg, The Telegraph

John Roach is a contributing writer for NBC News Digital. To learn more about him, check out his website. For more of our Future of Technology series, watch the featured video below.

Source: http://www.futureoftech.msnbc.msn.com/technology/futureoftech/sheep-collar-cries-wolf-text-message-shepherds-926799

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