MIT talk: Do robots offer a quantum leap in studying whales?

Speaker: Roger Payne , Ocean Alliance, Lincoln, MA
Date: Tuesday, February 6 2007
Relevant URL: http://www.oceanalliance.org/wci

Abstract:

Payne will review his 39 year study of Patagonian right whales one conclusion of which is that a key to conserving any species seems to be to learn to live with it, and from that experience to build it into human consciousness. But learning to live with whales that migrate 8,000 miles each year requires one to overcome the obstacle of keeping up with them, something that has failed in spite of numerous attempts to achieve it. Storms are what usually cause those who tag and follow whales to lose them. However, robots show great promise in enabling boats to keep up with whales, something that may offer a chance for a major leap in understanding of whales, and that may even someday allow future generations to guide whales into waters in which there is no whaling industry.