-- Research published in Journal of Applied Ecology shows 82% 
     reduction in bird fatalities. A year later, system continues to 
     learn and improve. 

IdentiFlight(R) is excited to announce that an independent study, "Automated 
curtailment of wind turbines reduces eagle fatalities," was recently published 
in the Journal of Applied Ecology.  Conducted by The Peregrine Fund, in 
cooperation with Western EcoSystems Technology, Inc. and the US Geological 
Survey, at a wind farm site in Wyoming, the research showed use of the 
IdentiFlight system resulted in an 82 percent reduction of eagle fatalities. 
 
Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1428317/IdentiFlight_Logo.jpg

"Avian collisions with turbine blades have been a long-time concern in the wind 
industry. The IdentiFlight avian detection technology was developed to address 
this problem and promote the successful coexistence of avian wildlife and wind 
energy," said Ben Quinn, Senior Vice President at IdentiFlight. "We now have 
conclusive evidence that IdentiFlight can be utilized as a mitigation and 
minimization solution for current and future wind projects."

Dr. Chris McClure, Director of Global Conservation Science at The Peregrine 
Fund and lead author on this study, noted, "These results show that using the 
IdentiFlight system can lessen numbers of fatalities of eagles at wind energy 
facilities, reducing the conflict between wind energy and raptor conservation. 
As this technology continues to develop and improve, it has the potential to 
greatly impact raptor conservation around the globe." 

Continually Evolving Technology

The IdentiFlight system is commercially deployed at projects around the world 
and has actively tracked and documented over 2.2 million eagle tracks. 
Documented images increase by more than 10 million every year with over 47 
million images of protected species gathered. With every image, the 
IdentiFlight system becomes more accurate and robust.

Carlos Jorquera, Chief Technology Officer for IdentiFlight, stated, "One of the 
advantages of the IdentiFlight system is its ability to learn from the massive 
amounts of data that it collects daily from eagles and other protected bird 
species around the world. By leveraging artificial intelligence technologies, 
such as machine-learning and convolutional neural networks, the system 
continuously improves as the data set grows."

Quinn added, "In fact, IdentiFlight has achieved dramatic improvements in the 
time since this study was completed with expanded capabilities and new avian 
species added to better serve global needs, including Red and Black Kites, 
Golden Eagles, Bald Eagles, Wedge-tailed Eagles, White-tailed Eagles, Lesser 
Spotted Eagles and Condors.  We are excited about the future of IdentiFlight 
and look forward to continuing to demonstrate that wildlife and wind generation 
can coexist."

How IdentiFlight Works

The IdentiFlight system blends artificial intelligence with high-precision 
optical technology to detect eagles and other protected avian species.    
Proprietary software and neural network technologies process the images to 
determine 3D position, velocity, trajectory, and protected species of interest, 
all within seconds of detection. IdentiFlight towers operate as an autonomous 
system detecting, classifying, and curtailing specific turbines that could pose 
a risk to the bird.  The system detects a bird as far as one kilometer away, 
classifying it as a protected species such as an eagle (or not) in real time. 
The IdentiFlight towers can be positioned to cover multiple turbines in a 
single wind farm.  When installed as a network with overlapping aerial 
coverage, the systems work together to provide the most protection possible for 
avian activity in the area.  

About IdentiFlight

IdentiFlight markets, delivers, and operates machine vision and AI technology 
for avian species detection and is a product of Boulder Imaging ( 
https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3050076-1&h=609492777&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.boulderimaging.com%2F&a=Boulder+Imaging 
). In an operating windfarm, IdentiFlight contributes to bird conservation by 
helping protect eagles from collisions with rotating wind turbine blades. The 
system provides informed curtailment to specific turbines to reduce energy 
loss.   In wind project development, IdentiFlight helps in permitting sites by 
accurately quantifying bird activity at prospective sites. The IdentiFlight 
system has completed real-world testing and validation and is now being 
deployed at projects across the U.S. and globally.  To learn more about 
IdentiFlight, please visit www.IdentiFlight.com. 

Source - IdentiFlight

CONTACT: Shelley Vierra, IdentiFlight, 720.545.0982, 
Shelley.vierra@identiflight.com