Unable to get a close look at Emperor Penguins themselves, scientists have taken to designing a penguin chick robot to do it for them.

According to the Associated Press, authors of a study published in the journal Nature Methods utilized such a robot that the penguins apparently tried to communicate with. However, the robotic bird was only successful after five tries.

Scientists have found it impossible to check Emperor Penguins' heart rate and other health parameters since the bird is notoriously shy and flees at the sight of outsiders. The international team of researchers and filmmakers had to come up with an approach where they could get a close look at a safe distance.

At the site of the 2005 documentary "March of the Penguins," team members sent the robot into the ranks while looking on from about 650 feet away. Study lead author Yvon Le Maho, of the University of Strasbourg in France, told the AP the one that worked was an artificial penguin on wheels.

Still, the penguins welcomed it in and even sang "a very special song like a trumpet."

"They were very disappointed when there was no answer," Le Maho said. "Next time we will have a rover playing songs."

For their study, the researchers also used a remote controlled rover to observe King Penguins and Elephant Seals, as those animals are not afraid of outsiders. The King Penguins left the rover alone as long as the device did not move, but the seals paid it little attention all together.

"The relevance of this technology extends beyond terrestrial populations of seabirds or mammals as rovers could be adapted for use in aquatic or aerial environments as well as for many purposes beyond electronic identification," the study's authors wrote in the study.