Watch this drone herd sheep like a sheepdog

Drones have many potential uses, from entertainment and news to spying and snooping. As they become increasingly more affordable, humans are only going to find more ways to leverage them, like to replace dogs.

More specifically, sheep farmer Paul Brennan has figured how to use a drone to do a sheepdog’s job. Introducing Shep the Drone:

Brennan has basically figured out that he can use a small drone to move the sheep in his care from one field to another with not much effort. The drone’s blaring sounds are likely enough to convince the sheep they want to move away from the weird, noisy unidentified flying object.

Speed up the clip, add some Benny Hill music, and you have comments like “I didn’t know dogs could operate drones.” Actually, it would not surprise us in the slightest if that was the next sensation: dogs using drones to chase squirrels. Just try picturing that without smiling.

To be fair, Shep the Drone can’t properly replace a sheepdog since it requires a human to control it. That said, it’s easy to see how, with some software, a drone could indeed get the job done. It would also possibly be more affordable, though it’s hard to say if it would be as effective. Sheepdogs have been doing this for hundreds of years, after all.

A drone naturally can’t replace the companionship a dog offers. Still, drones are finally here, and it’s only a matter of time before they’re everywhere, flying around and managing all sorts of business.