Remote-Control Penguin Rovers Fool Birds, Boost Science
Studying penguins with camouflaged rovers is less stressful on the birds than other methods.
If it looks like a penguin and acts like a penguin—well, sometimes it's not a penguin.
A remote-controlled rover designed to sneak undetected into penguin colonies in Antarctica works better than other research methods, a new study says.
The penguin-camouflaged technology is so realistic, it even fools live emperor penguins into trying to communicate with the electronic interloper.
Such a discovery may be invaluable as scientists work to observe rapid changes in these birds as climate change impacts their habitat on the southernmost continent, experts say. (Related: "Penguins That Weathered Past Climate Change Suffer This Time.")
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