Page 31 - AAA MARCH - APRIL 2013 Online Magazine

FEATURE BIRD STRIKE

SPOT THE BIRdIE –
dAy OR NIGHT
According to NEC, the system’s
detection range varies depending
on the size and number of birds.
The horizontal radar covers
approximately 3.6 kilometres,
the vertical radar, a height of
around 1.35 kilometres, and the
width of the radar beam is roughly
25 degrees horizontally and 1.9
degrees vertically.
The observation camera lets
users distinguish a bird around
17 centimetres in size from within
1.5 kilometres when visibility is
unobstructed. At night, when the
camera’s ability is far more limited,
the radar system remains effective.
Users can programme the
radars to focus on areas that are
considered the highest priority, as
well as configure alarms to trigger
and deliver images to monitors
when objects of a certain size enter
the radars’ area of focus. Images
from the automatically rotating
camera may also be viewed in real-
time, and objects that are thought
to be birds are automatically
detected and marked.

producing apparatus. Essentially, the highly directed sounds that birds have a even more efficient methods of keeping
radar systems (a combination of S band low tolerance for”. them away from danger or flight-path
radars and radar signal processing When NEC launched the system last areas. Furthermore, NEC says that the
devices) determine the position and year, Masahiro Takahashi, GM of the system could potentially contribute to
distance of birds in and around the Air Transportation Solutions Division, long-term airport safety management
airport grounds. This endeavour is aided NEC noted, “This solution is particularly through information sharing with other
during the daylight hours by surveillance valuable for reducing the occurrence departments involved in airport security
cameras, which use image processing to of bird strikes at airports that operate and operations.
detect the location of birds in areas that 24 hours a day and are faced with the While it is early yet to judge the
cannot be detected by radar. difficulty of visually confirming bird system’s effectiveness, should it prove to
The data collected by the radars and sightings during long night-time hours.” be helpful in keeping airport operations
cameras is then collated and displayed In addition, it is hoped that the less at risk of avian collisions, it is safe
on terminals that can track birds in real system will allow year-round collection to say that we will soon see much more
time. Once they are pinpointed, the birds and analysis of data, so as to facilitate of this kind of automated system – and
are warned and scared off to safer areas, understanding of birds’ behavioural other similar technologies – deployed at
using, as NEC puts it, “devices emitting patterns. This will hopefully lead to airports worldwide.
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