SBIR Phase I: Development of an automated, cost-effective bat activity and mortality monitoring system

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的更广泛影响将是促进风能的使用。 虽然风力涡轮机是一种无碳能源，但它们可能会影响鸟类和蝙蝠的栖息地;最近，蝙蝠已成为风力发电行业的一个关键焦点，因为有几种受威胁和濒危的北美蝙蝠物种，其领土与现有和计划的风力开发地点重叠。目前确定陆上风力涡轮机对野生动物影响的方法要求生物学家在涡轮机周围清理的地块上行走横断面，寻找尸体。 这种方法不仅昂贵，而且会导致不确定的影响估计。 对于海上风力涡轮机，目前没有确定影响的方法，这可能会阻碍项目许可的能力。该项目将提供一种自动评估工业风力涡轮机周围蝙蝠死亡率的工具。这个小型企业创新研究第一阶段项目将使用结构光成像和先进的计算机视觉来检测公用事业规模风力涡轮机周围的蝙蝠死亡率。 这个概念是安装近红外（NIR）相机和照明器的涡轮机和连续记录图像在夜间蝙蝠活动。 图像处理技术将用于识别蝙蝠活动沿着所谓的“轨道”作为二维飞行路径。在结构化光成像过程中将已知的NIR源投影到图像场中生成用于深度计算的参考，从而允许测量尸体的前进方向和范围。 这些措施将使系统的发展，以防止野生动物伤害的未来。 在第一阶段项目中，将建造一个原型系统，并在一个运行的风力涡轮机上进行测试。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will be to facilitate the use of wind energy. While wind turbines are a carbon-free energy source, they may impact the habitats of birds and bats; recently, bats have emerged as a critical focus for the wind industry since there are several threatened and endangered North American bat species whose territories overlap with existing and planned wind development sites. The current method of determining an onshore wind turbine’s impact on wildlife requires biologists to walk transects in cleared plots around the turbines looking for carcasses. This method is not only expensive, it also leads to uncertain impact estimates. For offshore wind turbines there is currently no method for determining impacts, which may hinder the ability to permit projects. This project will provide a tool for automatically assessing bat mortality around industrial wind turbines. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will use structured light imaging and advanced computer vision to detect bat mortality around utility-scale wind turbines. The concept is to mount near-infrared (NIR) cameras and illuminators to the turbine and continuously record images at night during bat activity. Image processing techniques will be used to identify bat activity along so-called "tracks" as two-dimensional flight paths. Projecting a known NIR source into the image field in a structured light imaging process generates a reference for depth calculations, allowing the measurement of the heading and range of a carcass. These measurements will enable the development of systems to prevent wildlife injuries in the future. During this Phase I project a prototype system will be built and tested at an operational wind turbine.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.