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10 · Open source hardware

Deer Chase System

Deer do not read fences. The Deer Chase System is a two part, open hardware setup that keeps them off a property without harming them. A pole at the fence line watches day and night with RGB and infrared cameras. When it confirms a deer, it sends a bearing to a four wheel drive rover, which drives over, runs a zigzag chase pattern with strobe and sound, and backs off. If the camera sees a person or a pet, nothing happens.

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StatusIn design
PlatformOpen source hardware
AreaRobotics
Entry10 of 28
Who it is for

Built for

Homeowners and small landowners losing gardens and orchards to deer, and makers who want a documented outdoor robot to build on.

What is in it

What we are building

  • Detect, classify, dispatch, disperse: PIR or mmWave sensors wake the cameras, an on device model separates deer from person, pet and vehicle, and only a deer triggers the rover.
  • Humane by design. No weapons. Motion, light and sound only, and the rover never corners a deer toward a road.
  • Safety interlocks in hardware and software: a hardware e-stop on the motor bus, a GPS geofence that disables the motors off property, an abort on any person or pet, on link loss, and on a LiDAR obstacle.
  • Night capable: infrared camera and 850 nm illuminator for the hours deer are actually out.
  • Raspberry Pi 5 brain, 2D LiDAR for navigation, solar and LiFePO4 power on the pole. Combined first build is in the low thousands in parts.
  • Open and repairable: off the shelf parts, a documented bill of materials, schematics and code intended for open release.
Progress

Where it stands

  1. Concept
  2. Design lockedPole plus rover. Rover required.
  3. Bill of materialsShopping cart priced, Oct 2026
  4. Vision pole build

Next upOrder the vision pole parts and get detection running on the Pi before the rover.

Build log

What has happened

Newest first. One line per step, added as the work goes.

  1. Handoff brief complete: locked design, architecture, bill of materials, wiring notes, software plan, safety and license guidance. Build not started.
  2. Listed on the Nspire App Co index.
Screenshots
Deer Chase System concept illustration
Concept. Vision pole, chase rover, and the five steps from detect to abort.
Deer Chase System rover design views
Design reference. Rover front, side and rear, with the vision pole.
Deer Chase System overview diagram
System overview. Pole at the fence line, 4WD rover, what each part does.
Deer Chase System sequence diagram
Detect, identify, scare, dispatch. The sequence on one sheet.
Waitlist

Tell me when the plans are released

Leave an email and we will tell you when it is ready to try. One message when it ships, and nothing else.