The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities introduced its latest technological marvel, a new robot Aurora.

The cutting-edge robot is designed for operations at the Fairbanks airport and remote airports across the state.

“Fairbanks is leading the country with wildlife mitigation through the use of Aurora. Several airports across the country have implemented robots for various tasks such as cleaning, security patrols, and customer service,” Department of Transportation & Public Facilities (DOT&PF) spokesperson Danielle Tessen announced.

Alaska’s New Robot Aurora

Aurora is poised to become a game-changer in wildlife management and airport safety.

Aurora was developed by Boston Dynamics for an estimated $70,000, funded through a federal grant. What makes Aurora truly unique is its custom design by Alaskan graphic artist and DOT&PF employee, Andrea Deppner. 

 Aurora’s exterior is meant to depict Alaska’s northern lights. And has colors ranging from deep indigo to emerald-green across a metallic frame. Deppner also customized replaceable panels to disguise the robot as a coyote or a fox.

With a headless robot dog design, Aurora is adept at navigating rough terrains and adverse weather conditions, ensuring its effectiveness in the Alaskan environment.

The DOT&PF released a video of Aurora climbing rocks, going up stairs and making dance-like moves.

Those dancing skills will be put to use this fall during the migratory bird season when Aurora imitates predator-like movements while flashing lights to keep birds and other wildlife from settling near plane infields.

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Aurora’s Mission

According to Ryan Marlow, a program manager with the transportation department, the plan is to put Aurora on patrol. 

Equipped with advanced technology, Aurora will be set to operate on an hourly patrol schedule, in designated areas.   With Alaska's abundant wildlife posing significant risks to aviation safety, Aurora's patrol duties near runways aim to deter wildlife from interfering with airport operations.

According to the regional Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) database in 2023 there were 92 animal strikes near airports in Alaska, this includes 10 in Fairbanks. 

The primary mission of Aurora is to prevent potentially catastrophic encounters between planes and wildlife.

The initial testing phase in Fairbanks will evaluate Aurora's effectiveness in deterring not only birds but also larger animals such as moose and bears.

This comprehensive assessment aims to ascertain Aurora's suitability for deployment across Alaska's diverse airport network.

If the testing proves successful, the Alaska DOT&PF plans to expand the deployment of similar robots to smaller airports statewide.