A Surrey home owner has found a novel way of ridding his garden of nocturnal nuisances using his Ring camera system. IT expert, James Milward, got so fed up with badgers and foxes leaving their ‘deposits’ in his garden, that he has invented the Furbinator 3000.
The device uses AI to detect the presence of foxes and badgers. Once triggered, the device emits a high frequency sound which the animals dislike.
To train the technology, Mr Milward used hundreds of images of foxes and badgers. The initial training was not straightforward as the system recognised badgers first as an umbrella and then as a sink or bear. However, after what he first felt was a “spectacular failure”, the system eventually worked after he began using machine learning.
Mr Milward created the device to provide a compassionate way to live in harmony with wildlife.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) does not support the use of such devices due to the possibility of discomfort, fear or pain suffered by the animals that could be caused by ultrasonic sound.
Foxes and badgers are not generally considered a nuisance, but living with the creatures can cause problems. Mr Milward was concerned about his children playing in a garden where excrement had been deposited overnight.
The code for the Furbinator has been made open source, making it free to anyone wanting to copy his invention. He has also foreseen other settings in which the technology could be useful, including agriculture. Currently, he says: “there really aren’t any safe deterrents for getting rid of potential predators, and this is an ideal solution for that”, suggesting that it might also be used in areas where people and animals might come into unwanted contact.
So how can you make money out of your Ring doorbell? Ask Amazon, of course! The company has offered $1 million to anyone who is able to present evidence of extraterrestrial beings using their Ring cameras.
There have been many instances in which Ring cameras have recorded unexpected events, including doorstep theft, marriage proposals and wildlife visits. An emu was recently reunited with its owner after turning up on a woman’s doorstep!
Amazon now hopes its technology will help prove the existence of alien life on Earth.
Entrants must be over 18 and living in America, and entrants will need to submit proof of “unaltered scientific evidence of a real extraterrestrial lifeform”. A “Space and Extraterrestrial Expert” will then examine it.
There are two entry options – you will need to present either a one minute video showing “someone or something related to extraterrestrials” or submit “Scientific Evidence recorded using a Ring gadget documenting an Extraterrestrial.”
Good luck!