PNNL

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) are partnering with Sightir, an environmental monitoring company, to bring a new environmental monitoring technology to the market.

Over the past decade, PNNL researchers have been developing ThermalTracker-3D (TT3D), a thermal infrared imaging system that can observe animal behavior both day and night, in any weather. The technology was developed specifically for energy developers to track bird and bat behavior around wind turbines and other energy infrastructure, but it has broader applications. It can provide detailed information about wingspan, body length, flight speed, and the height at which the bird or bat is flying—critical data needed to address monitoring and mitigation requirements imposed by environmental risk assessments.

TT3D can help reduce the cost and shorten the development time of wind energy projects. The technology won an R&D award in 2021 and was granted a U.S. patent in 2020.

With an exclusive commercialization license, Sightir will further develop TT3D as a monitoring product for environmental purposes and for drone and aviation monitoring for security environments. However, two key challenges remain: establishing reliable communication with the device in the field and integrating an independent power system, said Marcus Chevitarese, Sightir’s founder and CEO. 

“What we’re trying to figure out is: how do you make a robust, easy-to-deploy system that uses lower power and increases the ease of access to communicate with it?” Chevitarese said. “You’re not connected to the web when TT3D is on a buoy or doing a survey on a construction site on land. Plus, access to power is limited.”

Sightir also plans to develop TT3D for security purposes, such as drone monitoring. Drones move a lot differently than wildlife, so a different kind of camera system might be required. For instance, a future version of TT3D could be used for broad security applications, outdoor venues, or for individuals concerned about privacy. 

“It is so exciting to see this technology take the next big step after over a decade of research has gone into it,” said Jenny Wehof, a systems engineer at PNNL and project manager for TT3D. “The PNNL team has been working to refine the technology through multiple field tests and has shared our lessons learned with Sightir to make TT3D a valuable and user-friendly system for industry and researchers alike.”

Work on TT3D is funded by the Department of Energy’s Wind Energy Technologies Office within the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.