[Bounty] Update: 100BTC for 2 Working Crow Vending Machines

[edd]

I notice that Josh says a kit might be available soon: http://www.josh.is/crow-machine/#comment-1544

[RaggedMonk]

I notice that Josh says a kit might be available soon: http://www.josh.is/crow-machine/#comment-1544

Awesome!  Just emailed him about the kit.  I'll keep this thread posted.

[RaggedMonk]

I guess my point is if a bunch of squirrels eat all the nuts before you get a crow, experiment over. Either that or constant babysitting.

Squirrels will only be a problem for the first few stages (where you leave food by the machine to get them to come over to it), but Josh found that the squirrels weren't able to learn to deposit coins.  So presumably, once you get the first few crows trained, squirrels will no longer be a problem.

[RaggedMonk]

Interesting, you guys really are serious.  I'm interested in building this, but I'm don't have the time/not interested in trying to train the black bastards to actually use it.   If you guys just want a working unit as far as the mechanics and electronics go I could start piecing it together and let you know if it's feasible (cost wise).

Because there are some intricacies, like whether the sound of the machine scares the birds, whether the coin slot can avoid clogs from being outside for a period, etc., I'd like a tested machine.  If you build one for Inaba and he can train them, I'll send him the 20BTC for the video, and buy another from you for 40 (assuming Josh Klein doesn't get back to me first).

If I end up buying directly from him, I'll still honor half my video bounty, of 10BTC for anyone else who can demonstrate a working crow vending machine with a bitcointalk sign in the video.

One day, I hope to see a world where man and crow engage in mutually beneficial commerce in hundreds of cities around the world. :-)

[dropt]

I just want a working unit, I'll handle the bird training

Well I guess what he is pointing out is that the machine is supposed to handle the training, and that part of it might be annoying to create. However, an easy one would be to just make the machine work on step 4.

Or maybe the machine could handle all 4 modes, but would require manual intervention to switch between modes?

My initial brainstorm would require user intervention to switch between modes since we don't really have an idea of how long each stage needs to operate for proper training.  I suppose the stage timing could be automated (with adjustable time periods)

[Inaba]

I think it would have to necessarily require user intervention, since it would be different timing for any given set of birds.

[TECSHARE]

The stages could be automatically set based upon the weight of the hopper (peanuts removed) and the frequency of coin drops.