Herding Cattle Goes High-Tech

"Come on girls, let's go," the cowboy croons as he gathers his bovines from across the desert range. One day, this cowboy may not have to ride the range to corral his herd. The "cowboy" is U.S. Department of Agriculture researcher Dean M. Anderson, who is working to corral cattle remotely through a high-tech device that funnels sounds directly to the animals. It's Old West cattle herding with a 21st century twist -- part of a project involving the USDA and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on the government's Jornada Experimental Range in southern New Mexico. The wireless headset, called the "Ear-A-Round," has stereo earphones that transmit sounds directly into the cow's ears to guide its movement. Powered by a small solar energy panel, the unit contains a GPS device to monitor a cow's location and movement. Researchers hope the device will give ranchers and farmers the ability to herd cattle from afar. In essence, a rancher could stay in his air-conditioned office and check on the location of his animals by logging on to a computer. Another potential benefit would be eye-friendly vistas that have no fences.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/08/05/remote.herding.ap/index.html