Each pole has its own control system which raises and lowers the pole. There is also an anemometer to measure the wind speed. Should the wind exceed 25 knots the control system automatically lowers the pole. On the first version of the system there was only one anemometer and a radio link sent the wind speed data to the three control boxes. However, radio interference caused problems so, in the latest version of the system there is an anemometer by each pole. At first light the system vents a control valve to ensure the pole is completely down whereupon the on board mains compressor is run for 60 seconds which is enough to raise the pole to its full height. Over a period of up to 5 hours the poles slowly come down. From the perspective of a gull flying over, this has the effect of the birds appearing to move relative to the roof. After 5 hours the control system fires up the compressor again and the poles are raised to their full height putting each Robop 22 feet above the roof. When darkness falls the poles come down.

On future versions of the system we plan to install hides at each position so that when a pole is down Robop will be hidden. By adding additional control logic, we plan to simulate Robop flying way from one pole and later arriving at the next pole. In addition when our current R&D project is complete, the system will invoke an aggressive response whenever birds are detected on or near the roof. Other future options being considered is the inclusion of a webcam so that the performance of the system can be checked remotely allowing us to carry out maintenance straightaway should any problems arise.