Feasibility of Tractor Detection

During agricultural processing operations under or around wind turbines, large birds in particular are regularly attracted to the catchment area of the turbines, even from great distances. Shutting down turbines at these times is therefore often technically advisable. Currently, the protective measure “shutdown during agricultural processing operations” is mostly based on contracts between wind turbine operators and land managers and complex, often unreliable reporting chains in order to be able to shut down the wind turbines during and after relevant agricultural operations.

Project Goals

In the foreseeable future, the measure of shutting down wind turbines in the event of field management events within a certain radius can also be ensured automatically using appropriate detection systems. This study examines the requirements that such systems should fulfill in the future. The study considers species protection issues as well as formal questions of approval and corresponding evidence, practical feasibility and economic aspects.

Approach

Based on the project team’s expertise both in the field of species conservation and in the application of artificial intelligence, the current state of technical and species conservation knowledge will be reviewed and supplemented by our own assessments and evaluations. In addition, two workshops will be held with experts from various fields in order to gather further knowledge and requirements from different perspectives.

Work Packages

• WP 1: Detection requirements from a nature conservation perspective
• WP 2: Overview of the state of the art and development requirements
• WP 3: Legal aspects
• WP 4: Application aspects