What is IdentiFlight?
IdentiFlight (IDF) is an American camera system for preventing bird fatalities through collisions with wind turbines.
The system consists of optical camera systems combined with image processing and AI (artificial intelligence) software. The IDF system can detect a bird at a distance of up to one kilometer and is capable of identifying birds in real time. IDF aims to provide an early and needs-adapted curtailment of windturbines for the protection of endangered birds.
The IDF system is already in use in North America and Australia. In Germany the IDF system is currently undergoing validation. The performance of the IDF system with regard to the protection of endangered target species (e.g. red kite, white-tailed eagle and lesser spotted eagle) is being evaluated in detail.
What does OekoFor do?
The team at Oekofor, together with the team from ARSU GmbH are supervising this validation process in Germany.
IDF systems have been installed at various German test sites and data are being collected. Parallel to surveys from the IDF system, ornithologists are also on site collecting reference data. These data are compared, as one of many steps in the validation process, to assess the performance of the IDF system.
Our tasks is to prepare, analyze and visualize the data collected and compile the results in the form of a report.
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An IDF tower installedin the test area.
© erneuerbare energien europa e3 GmbH -
Example images of birds captured by the IDF system.
From top to bottom: European bee-eater (Merops apiaster), osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus)
© erneuerbare energien europa e3 GmbH -
Example images of birds captured by the IDF system.
Above: lesser spotted eagle (Clanga pomarina), bottom left: red kite (Milvus milvus), bottom right: European honey buzzard (Pernis apivorus)
© erneuerbare energien europa e3 GmbH -
Further example images of birds captured by the IDF system.
Above: Eurasian crane (Grus grus), below: Bewick's swan (Cygnus bewickii)
© erneuerbare energien europa e3 GmbH
Further links
More information about IdentiFlight:
- https://ellipsoid-yellow-gh8p.squarespace.com/
- https://www.arsu.de/themenfelder/windenergie/projekte/wirksamkeitstest-eines-technischen-systems-zur-vermeidung-von
News
October 2021:
- The validation process for the red kite has been completed.
The final report can be found at the following link (only available in German language):
How well IdentiFlight protects the red kite (Milvus milvus)?
February 2021:
- The validation process for the red kite is in its final phase. The final report is expected to be completed in the next few months.
- For other target species, such as the white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) and lesser spotted eagle (Clanga pomarina), new test sites are planned for 2021.
Client & Partner
erneuerbare energien europa (e3) GmbH is the contracting authority for this project. Our partner for the validation process is ARSU GmbH.
