A falcon-like machine patrols the skies of the Edmonton airport in Canada, in order to prevent a serious threat to aviation - a collision of a bird or a flock with an airplane.
By: Or Amr
The female falcon flaps its wings about 30 meters above Edmonton Airport, Canada - behavior typical of hunting. She chases after a flock of starlings that rush to take shelter in the safety of the forest. The female falcon is majestic, graceful and aggressive.
In addition to all these, it is also artificial - a battery, sensors, a GPS system, a barometer and a computerized flight control system that is inside a falcon-like body painted by a human hand and controlled by a human from the ground.
The Robird (free translation of robird) is a machine that patrols the skies of Edmonton Airport. Its mission is to imitate the behavior of a falcon, in order to prevent a serious threat in aviation - a collision of a bird or a flock with an airplane. The robin does not catch prey, its purpose is to make the birds wary of the presence of the "predator" and to encourage them to stay away from the field.
What's all the buzz about?
Large birds or a flock of small birds can cause serious damage if they enter an aircraft engine ("swallowed" in aviation terms). In the worst case, birds disable both engines of the plane, as the world witnessed in 2009 when a flock of Canadian geese disabled a US Airways plane, where the event ended with luck and all passengers They were saved by the Hudson miracle.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, of the 142,000 passenger aircraft in the US that suffered bird strikes between 1990 and 2013, 62 aircraft were destroyed, 279 passengers were injured and 25 were killed.
fly away...
The field has many ways to deal with birds. To get rid of crops around the field or drive away by noises, but birds are smart and quickly learn the deceptions of the field.
In some areas of the SDA, real falcons are used. The problem is that even the most tame falcons need care, food and rest. In addition, it is not possible to control them completely and therefore damage can be caused to the flocks of birds or even to the falcon itself. It is important to remember that, unfortunately, birds are killed in the field. According to the American news agency AP, since the Hudson miracle, more than 70,000 birds have been killed in New York alone.
Wave goodbye?
From a technological point of view, the development of the rubeza was a challenge. Falcons flap their wings while hunting, so it was necessary to imitate this action, since a simple takeoff would not be reliable. So how do you make a machine mimic a flapping action?
The robin depends exclusively on flapping its wings to propel itself. In fact, this was the original plan of the Wright brothers, which was replaced by one that included standing wings and propellers. Robert Jonker, operations manager at Clear Flight Solutions, claims that he worked on the falcon for 13 years and more to imitate the bending and lifting of the peregrine falcon's wing, which was chosen because it is common in the world and therefore many animals shy away from it.
3, 2, 1… take off
Edmonton was the first city where they tried Rubez, for a period of 3 months. After Jul Wojnowski, a wildlife expert, traveled the vast territory of the Israel Defense Forces and examined where the flocks of birds were and what species were present, the operators of the Rovez decided where to fly it, while changing the flight schedule. This is because the flights must be done randomly, otherwise the birds will get used to a certain routine. The hawk is flown by throwing it from the hand and it is able to stay in the air for 15 minutes, 10 minutes longer than a falcon that makes flights in the wild.
From the first findings it can be seen that the turnip does cause the birds to leave their flight areas. It won't necessarily replace other measures but it is a good tool. And as the technology and techniques develop, the rubeza will be more significant and effective.
So this coming spring, when the birds return to Edmonton Field, the mechanical raptor will be waiting for them in the sky.
