During World War II, American behavioral scientist, B. F. Skinner attempted to design a pigeon-guided missile. The idea was that a lens would be placed at the front of the missile, projecting an image of the target onto a small screen. Then, a pigeon, trained to recognize the target, would peck the screen. If the pecks were in the center of the screen, the missile would fly straight. If the pecks were to the right or left of the center, the screen would tilt, causing the missile to change course due to a connection between the screen and the flight controls. Three pigeons were to be used, with the flight course being determined by majority rule. This project never got off the ground due to the fact that Skinner could not get anyone to take him seriously, although he did have some success in training the pigeons.
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