For three months last summer, a flying, flapping robot protected Edmonton International Airport, Alberta, from avian trespass. The Robird, a falcon-size unmanned aircraft, is a scarecrow for the future—a bird-herding device that keeps runways clear of fowl play. Tested for months as part of a broader trial of drone-integrated airspace, the Robird might be the face of wildlife management to come.
The Robird is the approximate size and shape of a peregrine falcon. These are apex predators, with a diet of mostly other birds, and hunt everything from songbirds to geese. At home on six continents, they are a known threat for most birds. The Robird mimics a peregrine falcon in both appearance and flight pattern, and birds flee it instinctively.
“We were able to chase over 5,600 birds away with the Robird,” says Jordan Cicoria, managing director of UAV service provider Aerium Analytics, adding: “Everything from crows to gulls to geese to pigeons.”

Robird is a flapping-wing unmanned aircraft modeled on the appearance and flight behavior of a peregrine falcon. Credit: Aerium Analytics

The Robird was designed at the University of Twente in the Netherlands, and is now operated by Clear Flight Solutions, which spun off from the university to provide bird control and inspection services. For the tests at Edmonton, Aerium partnered with the Dutch company.
The Robird is battery powered and remotely piloted by a two-person team. The observer tosses the drone into the air, where the flapping motion of the wings takes over. Once airborne, the flapping provides both lift and thrust, with the V-shaped tail providing stability and control. The Robird weighs just 750 grams (1.65 lb.). It can stay aloft for up to 15 min., though in keeping with the falcon inspiration, is typically flown for 5-6 min. to match the peregrine’s hunting patterns. Speed tops out at about 70 kph (43 mph) in a slight dive. Typically, the drone will fly at 30-40 kph), depending on the speed of its target and its direction of flight. To recover, the Robird makes an unpowered glide to a gentle belly landing.
Apart from GPS and the basics needed for flight, the Robird does not carry any sensors, although that is a possibility for the future. For now, the focus is on keeping the “bird” light, so it can hunt as it needs to hunt, but eventually it may get cameras mounted in the eyes. The biggest hurdle, besides weight, is image stabilization, as a flapping motion does not lend itself to smooth video.
After the observer tosses the Robird into the sky, the pilot directs the machine to chase whatever flock is too close to the airport at that time, herding the pigeons or gulls or geese or crows much like a sheepdog would steer its flock. A two-person team is both a good idea and a legal requirement for operation inside the U.S. and Canada. The observer stays in contact with the pilot, keeping an eye on the drone, the birds, and any aircraft that might be approaching.

Robird is hand-launched into flapping-wing flight and can stay aloft for up to 15 min., but typically makes shorter flights. Credit: Aerium Analytics

Aerium flew its drones at least 150 ft. away from aircraft landing areas, and kept to an altitude of 150 ft. above ground level when operating. Using a little more altitude would allow the Robird to better mimic the diving pursuits of the peregrine falcon, but the overriding concern was to stay out of the way of any operations at the airport.
In a second aspect of the trial at Edmonton, not only did Aerium operate a robot bird to scare away real birds, it flew the Robird and other drones in controlled airspace, for the benefit of the airport, while normal operations were underway.
The three-month drone operation trial started in July with Robird flights, but before the first drone flew at Edmonton, Aerium worked with the airport to make sure that the flights would be a net improvement for safety, and not an introduction of a new hazard into the area.
“We spent about 2½ months going through safety hazard identification, risk assessment and stakeholder consultation,” says Cicoria. “We didn’t want a bunch of helicopter pilots going ‘Why is there a drone over there?’”
To assure everyone that the drones were safe, Aerium talked to pilots about fail-safes built into the project, such as the drones always operating within a geofenced area and automatically turning around when they reached the edge of that safe zone. Aerium delineated what happens if the drone loses the communication link, or falls out of the sky.
“In the risk assessments, we went through where you are able to fly, how high you can fly and what times you are  going to fly,” says Cicoria. “And we were able to prove that each of those potential risks were mitigated to a safe enough level that the hazards were decreased to the point where instead of the drone being a risk, the drones were actually a benefit because now you’re chasing birds away too.” Pilots on approach face a decreased risk, thanks to the technology, she says. 

Bird-scaring drone flights were integrated into routine airport operations and stayed below 150 ft. altitude. Credit: Aerium Analytics

In total, Aerium flew the Robird 150 times at Edmonton, driving off an estimated 5,600 birds. That averages out to 37 birds scared away from the airport per Robird flight, with 15 min. of drones flying in the area also driving away other hazards. While a collision with a drone will cause more damage to a manned aircraft than with a bird, birds outnumber drones by a factor of around 4,000-to-1, so it is safe to say they will remain a greater risk to aircraft than drones for the foreseeable future. Using a drone to spook away birds is a net gain for safety.
To ensure the Robird and other drone operations did not interfere with routine airport operations, the drone teams stuck to a set schedule, consistently keeping air traffic controllers in the loop as to where and when they were flying. To that end, the Robird and other drones flew without transponders, as informing pilots of a small flying machine below would be more distracting than instructive. Notices to airmen kept visiting pilots and crews apprised of drone activities.
In addition to the Robird, Aerium operated Sensefly Albris drones, which surveyed the airport property. This included mapping a runway when it was out of use, using thermal cameras to look for heat loss in an old terminal, and capturing video and photographic data to plot the drainage of the airport, spotting potential problems before they occur. At almost 7,000 acres, Edmonton is the largest airport in Canada by land area. Surveying by drone is one tool to manage that vastness.
Aerium is in talks with Edmonton about taking the trial to a full service model for 2018, with Robirds integrated into routine operation and as part of the greater bird-risk-mitigation strategy, coordinated with the airport ornithologist. As the airport learns how to safely and smoothly integrate small drones into controlled airspace, the camera-carrying quadcopters could become part of maintenance and spot checks, flying over aircraft at the gates and hunting for irregularities. This is still the future; the talks about adopting drone scarecrows as a service are underway, and if agreed drone inspection is just one possibility.
And the applications extend beyond airports. Spooking birds away from construction sites could eliminate a nuisance factor, scaring them away from mines could keep the birds safe, and driving them off from crops can help keep humans fed. But coupling wildlife biology with manned and unmanned aviation can actually save lives, Cicoria says.