Automated Acoustic Monitoring of Birdstrike Hazards

Bird-aircraft collisions (birdstrikes) present a significant threat to military and commercial aircraft, and as bird populations and air traffic continue to grow, and airport/airbase operations continue to expand, the problem will steadily get worse. A majority of the efforts to solve this problem focus specifically on bird mitigation via, e.g., wildlife and environmental management. However, a key element in mitigating birdstrikes is timely and accurate detection of avian threats in airport and airbase environments. Rapid detection ensures maximum response reaction time, and correct identification of bird threats ensures that resources are not expended in responding to false alerts. We propose a hybrid birdstrike hazard monitoring system consisting of (1) a set of highly sensitive passive acoustic arrays, adapted from state-of-the-art undersea warfare sensor technology, which can provide accurate source detection, location, and tracking, (2) a radar surveillance system built specifically for bird monitoring (currently available as a commercial system), and (3) a steered parabolic dish microphone providing high gain, low side-lobe acoustic data for accurate source classification. The system will fuse the outputs of the acoustic and radar detectors to generate a more accurate picture of birdstrike threats than either sensor type can produce on its own.