The European hedgehog is threatened and up to 75 percent of the species has disappeared, reports the Reuters news agency.
There are various reasons for the decline in hedgehog numbers, including habitat loss, road traffic accidents, intensive farming and dog bite injuries – but also sharp robotic lawnmowers.
One who wants to stop the development is Doctor Sophie Lund Rasmussen, at the University of Oxford.
– My research has discovered that some of these robotic lawnmowers can actually be lethal to the hedgehogs. So that’s why I decided to investigate this further and try to find a solution to the problem, Rasmussen told Reuters.
Crash tests
Rasmussen, who calls himself “Doctor Hedgehog”, began testing the safety of various models and then used dead hedgehogs – tests that turned out to be very bloody.
– Some of the clippers only made small cuts in their skin, but some actually decapitated the hedgehogs and it was really traumatic for the entire research team to witness, she says.
The research team’s solution is a 3D printed crash test dummy, to avoid bloody tests. They are now developing a standardized safety test that will enable manufacturers of robotic lawnmowers to ensure that their models are “hedgehog friendly” before they are released to the market.
– The best scenario, what I hope to see in the future, is a robotic lawnmower that recognizes the hedgehog from a distance, so that it never comes into contact with the hedgehog and instead changes direction. So this is what we are working towards, she says.