Robo-dog herds cows

A million-dollar new Australian machine herds cows, monitors individual animals, and alerts farmers to any in distress, particularly in the calving season.

Farmers have responded to Rover the robot, but an affordable commercial model which could tackle tough terrain is still at least two years away.

Then, it might cost tens of thousands of dollars. Now, the €700,000 prototype is stillbeing tested, having been adapted from use in the defence industry and mining, by the Australian Centre for Field Robotics at the University of Sydney.