Chicken Head Tracking - Smarter Every Day

Hey it's me Destin. Ahh.. I got my dad a present for father's day, and it's kind of weird, so I figured I'd show you an interesting principle with the present. It's a chicken. I got my dad a chicken for father's day, and I want to show you a pretty interesting method that chickens have to keep their heads stable. You know in guidance and control you have feedback loops and so you have to know your position, and where your relative motion is going so you can compensate for it, but chickens are really good at this, so I'll show you..

Watch his head stay totally stationary as I move his body. I can move his body in pretty much any direction and his head stays rock solid in one position. This is really hard to do. So anyway, he knows exactly where his body is and where his body's moving. It's kinda fun to watch isn't it? So, they're really good at it. I don't really know why, but I'm sure there's an explanation.

There's my sister Browley with the other chicken we got dad, so..

(Sister) Mine does tail tricks. Up down, up, down.

Anyway, look how solid his head is. That's kinda stupid, he'd probably peck me in the eye so I'll stop now. Alright, so bye.

(Dad) The perfect father's day gift. - Yep, he liked it.

[angry chicken sounds]