Facial Recognition Software for Sheep

This is classical improbable research. This is extremely useful for many things, so first it may make you laugh, but then it makes you think.

Okay... pic.twitter.com/Qbsm6yptuH

— Thomas Lumley (@tslumley) November 27, 2019

(Tip of the cap to Richard Parker.)

Tales from the ArXiv: "Sheep Soliton"

You had me at "sheep soliton".

Yes, under a suitable approximation, it appears that you can gave a soliton description of certain types of collective behavior in sheep.

Below are the title and abstract. (I was hoping for an intriguing picture from the experimental data, but alas the visuals in this article are run-of-the-mill.) In other contexts, when sheep (a type of 'active matter') behave like a fluid, there are obvious jokes to tell about "shearing instabilities".

Title: Sheep Soliton

Abstract: Monitoring small groups of sheep in spontaneous evolution in the field, we decipher behavioral rules that sheep follow at the individual scale in order to sustain collective motion. Individuals alternate grazing mode at null speed and moving mode at walking speed, so cohesive motion stems from synchronizing when they decide to switch between the two modes. We propose a model for the individual decision making process and parametrize it from data. Next, we translate this individual-based model into its density-flow equations counterpart, considering 1D-motion along the group trajectory. Numerical solving these equations display a solitary wave propagating at constant speed. Coupling individual and collective levels, groups motion can then be seen as a wave propagating at some fraction of the individual walking speed even though each individual is at any moment either stopped or walking. Considering the minimal model embedded in these equations, we show analytically that it has the Korteweg-De Vries (KdV) Soliton as a steady regime solution. This soliton emerges from the non linear coupling of start/stop individual decisions which compensate exactly for diffusion and promotes a steady ratio of walking / stopped individuals, which in turn determines the wave speed. The convergence to only one solitary wave from any initial condition, and which can recover from perturbation, gives a high robustness to this biological system.

Update (12/18/17): I forgot to make a snarky remark along the following lines: One first needs to do a continuum approximation to get a relevant nonlinear wave equation.

For the actual sheep, one would think that there is some energy shedding as the wave propagates. :)

Headline of the Day: "Sheep Learn to Recognise Celebrity Faces from Different Angles"

This applies to all kinds of sheep. :P

(This is one of the most brilliant headlines I have ever seen, especially with the accompanying picture.)

Sheep learn to recognise celebrity faces from different angles https://t.co/qtoDBOvIIX pic.twitter.com/C50KwsYijA

— New Scientist (@newscientist) November 8, 2017

Meanwhile, in Wales...

I am highly amused by this headline, which I have reproduced for the screenshot below.

And then maybe we'll get a sequel to the movie Black Sheep.

Note: One can also find comments like the following online: "The 'psychotic sheep' story is fake. It's the UK media at its very worst. It is dishonest reporting based on distortion of one stupid farmer's delusional ideas. It never happened." Nevertheless, I find the headline to be very amusing.

The Fluid Dynamics of Sheep

By the way, sheep are a fluid.

Also see one of my previous blog entries.

New Article in Physical Review E: "Flow and Clogging of a Sheep Herd Passing Through a Bottleneck"

Yes, really.

The first person who told me about this granular sheep project, which has finally appeared in published form, is Karen Daniels, who points out that there are all sorts of wonderful (baaaaaaaad?) puns that one can make about shearing forces, sheared sheep, and so on.

Damnit, I Am Not a Sheep.

Is this commercial from Air New Zealand somebody's idea of a sick joke?

I am so not ever flying on this airline, though at least this commercial has an obvious theme song.

I'm going to go crawl into a hole now.

(Tip of the cap to Ravi Montenegro.)

Extreme Sheepherding

Wow, this video with LED art created by herding sheep is pretty insane. (Tip of the cap to Steve Van Hooser.)