Humble scarecrow could be out of job as 'smart' model nears market

The humble scarecrow could be out of a job within years. That's the word of one Australian scientist, who said the next generation of "smart" scarecrow could soon make its commercial debut. CSIRO Healthy and Biosecurity Risk Evaluation and Preparedness Program lead researcher Dr Paul de Barro said the modern scarecrow was unrecognisable from its predecessor. Dr de Barro said the system can connect with a farmer's smart device and alert them when they need to scare a pest away, or even potentially launch a drone itself to do the job. "Certainly the people who put scarecrows in enjoyed it and we've enjoyed the atmosphere it's brought today," she said.