Project description
Managing bird control at airports safely, efficiently and compassionately
Collisions between birds and aircraft pose a serious threat to passenger and aircraft safety, causing millions in damages, costly delays, and even injury or death. Many current methods of bird strike prevention at airports only offer short-term solutions, while others are inhumane. The EU-funded ROBIRD project intends to develop a scalable business model and validate prototypes for a novel remote-controlled robotic falcon designed to ward off bird populations in airfields. Not only will it contribute to increased flight safety, but it will cut damage expenses and costs of bird control without harming wildlife. It also has the potential to benefit agriculture and the oil and gas industry.
Objective
The aviation industry spends up to 7 billion euros per year on bird strike damage and delays and there is an average of more than twenty thousand bird strikes annually. Bird activity in airport environments creates a collision hazard for aircraft. Thus, bird strikes present an operational and commercial risk to aircraft and airport operators. As airspace is getting busier, and most large airports now operating close to their maximum operational capacity – there is need to eliminate anything that can impact their operational efficiency in any way. Clear Flight Solutions offers bird control services with the unique Robird® technology, an environmentally-friendly safe and cost-effective solution for all bird related problems at airports. Robirds are remotely controlled robotic birds designed in looks and flight pattern to mimic a Falcon. The main purpose of the bird’s appearance and flight pattern is to create a fear of predation in the resident birds at target location. At Airports birds will start to see the area as a dangerous area reducing the risk of bird strikes during flight operations by 75% due to a long-term reduction of bird presence and bird pressure by up to 99%. During migratory periods, it becomes easier to herd birds away from the airport as our innovation can control birds in the air. Future market applications are: The agricultural sector in which Robird® has been proven to result in a 20% increase in crop yields and the Oil and Gas industry, in which Robird® reduces bird population by 90-99% and prevents bird nesting by 99%. After ROBIRD industrialisation and internationalisation we envision to surpass a turnover of €22 million with a profit margin of 60% by year five with airport projects providing 80% of turnover. To reach this objective we require €1.85 million (70% covered by applying for a SMEInstrument phase 2). However, at this pointof we have to asses the technical, financial and commercial viability of the proyect to ensure market success.
Fields of science
- natural sciencesbiological scienceszoologyornithology
- engineering and technologymechanical engineeringvehicle engineeringaerospace engineeringaircraft
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesbiological behavioural sciencesethologybiological interactions
- agricultural sciencesagriculture, forestry, and fisheriesagriculture
- social sciencessocial geographytransporttransport planningair traffic management
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
SME-1 - SME instrument phase 1Coordinator
7521PH ENSCHEDE
Netherlands
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.