[Johannesburg, South Africa | 20 October 2023]: Proconics is pleased to announce that it has been awarded the contract to install the first IdentiFlight system in South Africa (SA) as part of a research plan for the KAP group’s Renewable Energy Strategy.

 

The first IdentiFlight system in SA will be installed as a study unit to better understand vulnerable species such as the cape vulture, Verreaux's eagle, and black harrier. 

 

“Partnering with the KAP group to bring this innovation to South Africa gets me really excited. Solving South African problems with South African talent is the driving force behind Proconics. We’re working with KAP to provide a world-class engineered solution, using the IdentiFlight system. This is a first for the country, and is a meaningful step in the RSA just energy transition,” said Melvin Jones, Proconics Group Chief Executive Officer.

 

Dirk van der Walt, Proconics’ technical lead on this project shared: "As a twitcher, this project excites me personally and as an engineer, one can make major impacts in the environment.  I’ve been involved in many projects where Proconics’ has used measurement and automation to protect major infrastructure and mega-assets and I can truly say this one is very exciting.”

 

We’re combining our technical expertise with cutting-edge solutions to “simultaneously solve our energy crisis, protect critical assets and preserve our environment and local biodiversity. We look forward to a collaboration that will shape South Africa's energy environment in the future,” he explained.

 

The IdentiFlight system combines artificial intelligence with high-precision optical technology to detect and categorise avian species from up to one-kilometre distance with greater than 99% accuracy. Within seconds after being detected, proprietary algorithms and neural network technologies process the photos to determine 3D position, velocity, trajectory, and sensitive species of interest.

 

Since 2016, IdentiFlight has been used in wind farms on four continents to detect hazards to vulnerable species. IdentiFlight can prevent specific turbines from posing harm to these birds of interest. IdentiFlight equipment can be installed for data collecting and monitoring at both prospective and operational wind farm locations. Independent testing has demonstrated that IdentiFlight decreases avian fatalities in wind farms by more than 85%.