It’s easy to train a dog to bring whatever you want. But would you believe this incredible person trains magpies to bring bottle caps in exchange for food.
Hans Forsberg, being an expert in robotics and artificial technology, got this great idea to build a machine to feed birds.
Proving that magpies are so smart
This great idea occurred to Hans when he sees two magpies were roaming in his backyard. These birds were trying to steal the paraffin candles from his lanterns like crows. So, Hans thought of using these smart brains for something useful.
That’s how he ended up building a machine to collect garbage in his garden in exchange for food. This is a new project for him and for most of us too.
Hans’ machine which disposes garbage in exchange for food
When a magpie drops a bottle cap to the machine, he/she gets food as a treat
This project includes some process.
First, the dispenser needs to be filled with bird food. So, when a piece of trash is put into the receptacle, it provides at least two pieces of food.
Once a piece of garbage is deposited, it passes food to a small compartment through a tube and funnel for the bird to retrieve it.
The main box has Raspberry Pi system and also a camera along with detectors and electronics, to check every motion.
It took few years for Hans to train the magpies to do the recycle process
The young magpies are environment friendly than the adult ones
Well, it’s not a simple process as I wrote above. The machine also includes vibrating motors, and its own graphic user interface.
Hans trained magpies for many years and it wasn’t easy. He says that first he had to make the birds interested in food he provided and to persuade them to visit Hans regularly.
The adult birds were cautious as they are aware of the dangers that could occur. But after the offspring, Hans realized that younger ones are braver and easier to train.
Hand wishes to enhance his project like training the birds to pick up trash as cigarette butts
Check out the videos how magpies clean up the neighborhood
Image credits: Hans Forsberg
So far, there’s one chick who has understood the whole process and she works really hard to earn food. But it turns out that her nasty siblings steal her rewards under her nose.
Hans plans to extend his project to help the whole neighborhood and we, wish him best of luck for trying to make this planet a better place.
People appreciated his great work on social media
