Advanced flight safety solutions for wildlife and drone detection

According to Hagay Azani, CONTROP’s VP Marketing and Sales: “We are proud to announce a significant expansion of our company's flight safety activities at airports. Ben Gurion Airport, one of the airports in the Middle East, chose to install two of our SPEED-BIRD systems following a lengthy and intensive evaluation process. One system will focus on the ground and will locate objects near the runways and taxiways.

"The second system will focus on the airspace and will detect birds and drones. The systems will operate 24/7 and will significantly increase safety during takeoffs and landings. These systems will enable TLV to become a world leader in airspace flight safety.”

CONTROP’s SPEED-BIRD system is based on the successful SPIDER system, with highly sensitive panoramic scanning technology that automatically detects birds during scanning. Along with advanced algorithms that were developed specifically for this application, this system will be integrated as a key component of Pharovision's SENTINEL system.

The SENTINEL is an EO/IR-based automatic detection and tracking system. It helps prevent collisions between aircraft and birds or flocks of birds or other wildlife, whether in the sky, on the ground, or near the runway - during take-off, landing, and taxiing. It can also detect people who trespass on airport property, as well as drones that fly into the airport’s airspace. The system automatically determines what an object is, tracks it, and alerts airport personnel.

Our SPEED-BIRD system, developed specifically to overcome the drawbacks of radar-based systems, was designed over a period of several years, based on continuous cooperation with, and feedback from, our customers in Israel and the US. The system, which is less costly than alternatives, has been extensively proven, exhibiting high performance under all environmental conditions.”

The system integrates a thermal imaging camera with advanced electro-optics, and a day camera. The combination of the continuous zoom lens of the IR camera, and the full-colour live video cameras, allows the SPEED-BIRD system to automatically perform wide area surveillance, providing highly accurate real time day and night detection and tracking.