‘My Goal Was Not to Profit from the Corvids but to Develop Methods for People and Birds to Interact’
This summer, Rodion Mutsolgov from the Moscow Region enrolled in HSE University after developing a project to train birds of the corvid family to collect trash. His project was recognized as one of the best at the third annual research project competition for applicants to the HSE Faculty of Computer Science (FCS), and also became one of the winners of the Ecology is Everyone's Business International Award. The HSE News Service interviewed the first-year student about his research discoveries and university experience.
About the Competition
— At the beginning of last academic year, I learned about the research project competition for applicants to the HSE Faculty of Computer Science; winning the competition grants admission to any programme at the faculty and a 100% tuition waiver. I applied, passed the selection process, and successfully presented and defended my project in the final stage. As a result, the jury named me a winner, for which I am very grateful, as it gave me the opportunity to study for free at one of the country's top universities and pursue my projects and research.
About the Project
— I developed a device to train corvids (a widespread family of passerine birds that includes species like crows, ravens, rooks, jackdaws, jays, and magpies—Ed.) to pick up trash.
The idea came to me after I read in the news about six crows trained to collect trash in a park in France. I found it fascinating and started researching the topic. It turned out that these were domesticated birds trained by ornithologists to pick up litter. As for wild crows, bird behaviour experts have discovered that they tend to be afraid of humans, which certainly makes them difficult to train.
Then I heard about Joshua Klein. I contacted him and learned that he was training corvid birds to retrieve lost coins using a special device that significantly accelerates the learning process. I decided to replicate his experiment and built a similar device.
Joshua Klein is an American IT consultant and entrepreneur ornithologist who earns money using ordinary crows as a labour force. In the late 1990s, he figured out how to train birds to collect lost coins. He created a device called the CrowBox, where the bird deposits a found coin—typically a 5-cent coin, as these are the ones Americans lose most often—into a slot and receives a peanut in return. According to Joshua Klein, peanuts cost an average of half a cent apiece, allowing him to earn a profit of 4.5 cents from each 'transaction.'
Corvids are highly intelligent birds. They can count to ten, their intelligence is comparable to that of a four-year-old child, and they continually amaze me with their cleverness. Magpies attempted to dismantle the device to see what was inside. Jackdaws were so eager for peanuts that they began thrusting their beaks into the device, tricking the sorting system into dispensing peanuts for free.
Corvids successfully mastered two of the four training steps, confirming the potential for their training. I then used this prototype to create my own design which included additional training steps for the birds. My primary goal was not to profit from the corvids but to develop methods for people and birds to interact. Therefore, I decided to create a prototype for training corvids to collect trash, specifically cigarette butts, as they are the most common type of litter on the planet. In this next prototype, I integrated two neural networks: one to identify the corvid species and another to sort the items collected by the birds. Joshua Klein and I are currently discussing further ways to advance the project.
About HSE University
— I enrolled in the Bachelor's Programme in Applied Mathematics and Information Science at the Faculty of Computer Science. I want to acquire a strong foundation in mathematics and computer science. HSE University is a unique place where you can gain extensive knowledge, and thanks to its support for students and their initiatives, this knowledge can be applied immediately in practice. This is why I have chosen to enrol here.
About My Studies
My studies are truly interesting; I learn and discover something new every day. While it can be challenging at times, the knowledge I gain is definitely worth the effort. During these three weeks, I have met many cool classmates, and we have already brainstormed an idea for a startup at HSE University.
About My Future Plans
Currently, I have numerous plans for advancing this project. I am thinking of designing a new device for training corvids that could be installed in the parks of our cities. I consider conducting research to examine the individual characteristics of corvids and using the findings to develop a system for contactless bird identification. I also plan to broaden the scope of the project and seek support for its implementation. I have many other ideas that I hope to implement while studying at HSE University.