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Pigeons to Blog Pollution

Posted by samzenpus on from the 100-monkeys-with-typewriters dept.

Strolls writes "In an release which conjures images of avian borg, a press release tells of plans to release pigeons equipped with cellphones and GPS so that they can "blog" air pollution data. The plan is the brainchild of Beatriz da Costa of the University of California Digital Arts Research Network and is scheduled as part of the inter-Society for Electronic Arts' annual symposium in San Jose in August. Da Costa has previously been involved with RFID roaches."

3 of 162 comments (clear)

  1. Why not light posts by 246o1 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Pigeons cover a wide variety of altitudes far better than light posts do. This makes the data they provide potentially much more valuable.

    --
    Although the moon is smaller than the earth, it is farther away.
  2. Re:It could very well be considered blogging. by Z0mb1eman · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Would a PHP random number generator script count as blogging? What about a script that generates a random blurb based on a random number generator?

    In terms of information, it's roughly equivalent. I'm going to go out on a limb here and, even without reading the article, assert that the pigeons themselves are not "posting short blurbs of information" anywhere.

    --
    ClutterMe.com - easiest site creation on the Net. Just click and type.
  3. Re:Hmmmmm by timeOday · · Score: 2, Interesting
    I hope they weigh less than a coconut.
    Me too (and it's not just my pythonesque sensibilities.) Did they really need to put a camera onboard too?

    My big question (not addressed in the article) is the power supply. What's the fun if each birdphone only lasts a couple days? I guess solar would be the first choice, but how about a little wind turbine or an induction coil spanning the bird's wings?