Filed under: GPS, Wearables

In no way are we insinuating that farming is ever “easy,” but a new headset designed for cows could make cattle herding a much less stressful experience. The Ear-A-Round headsets are the product of a project involving the USDA and MIT, and essentially, the GPS-infused devices would transmit stereo sounds directly in a bovine’s ears in order to guide and direct his / her movements. Strange though the head-worn gizmos may look, the built-in solar panel should keep it juiced up and ready to dictate on command, giving farmers the ability to track and herd from the comfort of their computer desks. The overriding goal here is to “improve animal distribution on the landscape,” though we can think of quite a few other positives to having such a robust virtual fencing system.

[Via Core77]

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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

The last we heard of DHS’s “Project 28″ plan to build a 28-mile stretch of virtual fencing along the US / Mexico border in Arizona, it had been postponed until at least 2011 because the towers didn’t quite work. Well, it appears that on further review, the system is even more of a total failure, and it’s being scrapped entirely: according to Kelly Good, deputy director of the administration’s Secure Border Initiative program, Project 28 “hasn’t come close” to meeting Border Patrol’s goals. Tests of the virtual fence didn’t lead to nearly as many arrests as designers had hoped, and the lag from sensor detection to transmission of an image to border agents was apparently a big part of the problem. Boeing, which won the $860M contract to build the system, is now being told to replace it all with upgraded towers, but there’s no word on when that’s happening or what it’ll cost taxpayers on top of the $20M already paid out. We’re expecting trillion-dollar chain-link bids to come rolling in any day now.

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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Remember Project 28? That Boeing / DHS system to put a 28 mile stretch of sensor-tower laden virtual fencing along the US / Mexico border in Arizona? Well, the government swiped the contract back from Boeing last week for lack of, well, working, and is apparently going at it alone with plans to delay it three or more years to get the job done right. Well, you know, right as total failures and wastes of taxpayer dollars get, ultimately.

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