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Bird control method: How to stop avians from spoiling your roof

Dubai - 'Autonomic' a fully-automated laser device to shoo away those tiny little creatures

Are birds a nuisance at airports, rooftops, farms and industrial sites, and even your balconies?
There is a perennial solution. A startup called Bird Control Group based in Yes!Delft in the Netherlands has developed Autonomic, a fully-automated laser device to shoo away those tiny little creatures that gives you big headaches. Once they are dispersed they won't come back to the area, the developer claims.
Like other airline industries across the world, the UAE is also spending billions every year to get rid of birds disrupting flight services.
Early last year, Reem Al Saffar, manager of airside projects at Dubai International Airport, had said that the number of birds are increasing in the UAE due to the new tourist attractions and developments, including birds and wildlife sanctuaries.
She is heading a dedicated airside controlling team who monitors and records the off-air presence of birds around the Dubai International Airport, and studying their habitat with the help of special bird control vehicle, The Dutch startup group's laser technology offers a ready-to-use smart solution to this.
The automatic device uses a green light and it works on all kinds of birds and is an environment-friendly device. It can shine around buildings, vast areas of land and can be used in time slots like, for example, when migratory birds come or after taking note of the arrival timings of birds.
And how does it work? Does the laser-kill birds?
"Not at all," Gijs Groen, area sales manager of Bird Control Group, told Khaleej Times during a visit to Yes!Delft.
"They don't feel anything but the lights look dangerous to them, which makes them leave the area. The birds are always watchful of their predators. That makes them not [wanting] to return."
The easy-to-carry equipment can be deployed in several situations and for sectors like agriculture, aviation, fishing and aquaculture, industrial sites and factories, oil and gas, real estate, recreation and renewable energy.
The device, which needs only one-time configuration, works on AC power and even on solar energy. Steinar Hensker is the founder and developer of Autonomic.
There are different kinds of Autonomic and the cost depends on the types. However, the price starts from ?10,000 (Dh45,000). As of now it won't sense birds but researches are going on in this area as well.
Who knows; the next device could be human-sensing lasers for sensitive areas.
- nazeem@khaleejtimes.com