Robot dingo built by James Cook University's Area 61 for cattle research

A team at a cutting-edge manufacturing unit at James Cook University Townsville has taken one of the state's worst pests and transformed it into a remote-controlled robot.

JCU's Area 61 built a four-wheeled buggy and mounted a taxidermied dingo on it to help with studies on cattle behaviour around predators.

While cattle have anti-predator defence behaviours that regularly dissuade wild dog attacks, unlike sheep and goats, the robots could help the industry understand the natural defence behaviours in cattle and how husbandry might influence predation risk.

A 2021 analysis on the cost of invasive species led by Flinders University Professor Corey Bradshaw found dingoes and foxes were the state's third worst pest group, costing the Queensland economy A$88 million since 1960.

JCU Area 61 equipment and design specialist Wayne Morris said 'robo dingo' was one of their most popular creations.

"I did personally find it quite amusing that of all the high tech stuff I've built - and I've built some really high tech stuff - everyone loves the dingo," Mr Morris said.

The animals, usually roadkill, are fixed up by taxidermists and kitted out in Townsville.

Mr Morris built the hardware in about three days and Area 61 embedded systems specialist Russell Warburton spent another couple of days writing code for the interfacing.

Using direct drive DC motors and a radio controlled plane controller, they were able to make it drive like a skid steer.

The device weighs about 15kg, can reach a top speed of about 30km/hr and cost $500-600 to build, excluding the dog.

Mr Morris said as with many projects, there were some design issues in the early stages.

"The first robo dingo's posture was poor. It didn't have any intimidating, predatory aspect to it at all," he said.

"The person who did [mark II] did an incredibly good job. The stance is just right for a dingo that's on the hunt. The work was museum quality."

Another issue was that the sprung suspension would cause the rig to constantly roll over.

The buggy had to have a very low centre of gravity because of the rough terrain it traversed, so opting for the 'less is more' approach, Mr Morris removed the suspension and reduced the tyre pressure.

Then there was working out how to overcome the damage inflicted by cattle.

"The first mount I made got broken the first time a cow kicked it, so I had to make it so that it popped off its mount and you could reassemble it," Mr Morris said.

Initially it was going to be operated like a drone with a camera mounted between its legs, but the team found it too difficult due to the skewed perspective and decided driving it manually was best.

The self-confessed builder of "very bizarre things" said it was "just buying the right bits and jamming them together".

"It ended up working really well, we're really pleased with the outcome," Mr Morris said.

State Resources Minister and Townsville MP Scott Stewart, who was there last week to announce the Commercial Manufacturing Accelerator Voucher scheme, said several Queensland government agencies have used the innovation hub.

"I'm really looking forward to seeing what else our great local businesses can come up with inside these walls," Mr Stewart said.

The CMAV scheme will provide $250,000 in funding to local small and medium businesses to access Area 61's services.

A business can apply for a voucher which covers 50 per cent of the Area 61 design and build costs up to a maximum value of $25,000.

In addition to drivable dingoes, Area 61 is using machine learning for traps that spray poison on feral cats and facial recognition for cows.

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