Why a new prototype
In 2023 we deployed AI cameras and Smart Deterrents across the Carpathian Mountains to keep brown bears out of villages. The system worked — for most bears.
But some bears are smart. Repeat-offender “problem bears” eventually figure out that the light and sound from a Smart Deterrent, however unpredictable, isn’t actually dangerous. They learn, they adapt, and they come back. For these animals, conventional audio-and-light deterrence isn’t enough.
The sky-dancer idea
In 2024 we returned to the same area in partnership with Foundation Conservation Carpathia to field-test a new prototype: an inflatable sky-dancer — the wildly waving, air-driven figure normally found at car dealerships — wired into the Smart Deterrent system.
The thinking: motion is fundamentally different from light and sound. A sky-dancer moves erratically, changes shape, and looms unpredictably. It’s much harder for a bear to dismiss as background noise.
When the AI camera detects a bear approaching, the system kicks in:
- The sky-dancer activates — flapping and lurching unpredictably above the deterrent station
The hypothesis: this multi-sensory, motion-based response will work on the bears that conventional deterrents can no longer reach.
What we’re learning
Field testing is ongoing. Early observations from the partner team suggest that the addition of dynamic motion does change bear behaviour at the deterrent station — particularly for individuals that had begun to ignore audio-only systems. The video below shows the prototype in action.
