It's easy to imagine the lonely Swiss shepherd casually texting his pals during a long day in the field, but reading an SMS from his flock? More possible then you might think. A recent trial in Switzerland outfitted 10 sheep with heart monitoring collars and submitted them to a simulated wolf attack, causing their heart rate to jump from 60 / 80 BPM to 225. The team behind the experiment hope to pair the significant change in heart rate with a future device that releases a predator deterrent while simultaneously sending a text message to the local shepherd. Complete prototypes are being prepped for a 2013 trial in Switzerland and France, where wolf attacks are on the rise. The devices hopes to offer owners of smaller flocks an affordable alternative to keeping a sheepdog.

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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Prototype heart monitor collar could let sheep text their shepherd, tattle on creeping wolves originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Aug 2012 03:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.