• Airports
  • Wind farms
  • Industrial sites

AI optical detection platform for non-cooperative objects

BCMS® VENTUR gives operator teams in regulated environments one live picture of birds, drones, and other objects, in the air and on the ground. Each one is detected, classified, and tracked, your team is alerted or deterrents fire under your rules, and every event is recorded.

The BCMS® VENTUR console following a bird track beside a camera station on an airfield

Partners and customers

  • Lenovo
  • NVIDIA
  • IQSIGHT
  • SGS
  • Italsicurezza
  • Zagreb Airport
  • Lenovo
  • NVIDIA
  • IQSIGHT
  • SGS
  • Italsicurezza
  • Zagreb Airport
How it works

Detect, classify, track, assess, respond, document.

Detection triggers classification, classification triggers risk scoring, and risk scoring triggers the response your team has configured. Every event becomes a record, and the record becomes analysis your team can plan against.

Live loop · automatic

Detect · classify

Detection reaches around 3 km with daylight cameras and about 1 km with thermal cameras, depending on the size of the bird and the camera. Species classification below about 1 km, once trained on the site's footage.

Search brackets converge on a bird in the camera view and lock
Candidate labels settle on a species beside the detection card
Live loop · under your rules

Track · assess · respond

Every object is followed with position, speed, and heading, feeding a live risk index as it moves. Deterrents trigger selectively, under the rules your team sets.

A comet trail and velocity vector follow the bird, with speed, height and heading beside it
A deterrence event is logged against the detection that triggered it, under the configured profile
Intelligence layer · season to year

Document · patterns

Each event is recorded with video and metadata, building an auditable operational and environmental history. Accumulated detections reveal seasonal and daily patterns, analyzed by THE EDGE COMPANY's biologists into reports your team can plan against rather than react to.

A new row lands in the detection log and the day counter steps
Accumulated detections fill a sector heatmap and a time-of-day profile on the statistics view

One platform, from raw observation to immediate, verifiable action.

The problem

Operations teams have never had more detection data. Or less certainty about what is happening.

  1. A radar scope with unlabeled returns

    You know something is there.

    A radar return gives range and bearing, not identity. A blip cannot tell you whether it is a gull, a drone, or clutter.

  2. A runway at dusk with a patrol vehicle on the shoulder

    An alert tells you something happened.

    The evidence sits in separate systems, if it exists at all. Some airports only learn of a strike when a carcass is found on the runway.

  3. A flock crossing the approach path of an aircraft

    Detection shows presence. Not intent or direction.

    Without trajectory, speed, and species, you cannot judge whether a target is drifting away or converging on active airspace.

  4. An operator filling in a wildlife log on a clipboard

    Every system creates data. Teams still reconstruct the event by hand.

    One major airport counted 500 staff hours a year just locating and counting a single species.

  5. Gulls settled on a grass strip beside a taxiway

    Most risks become visible only when they are already immediate.

    Reactive patrols and blanket deterrence answer what already happened. Habituation grows, and the pattern behind the risk stays invisible.

The complete solution

One operational picture. From first detection to earlier intervention.

BCMS® brings real-time classification, visual evidence, tracking, and automated documentation into one system, so teams understand events as they happen and respond with confidence.

  1. Accurate detection

    Know what it is before deciding what to do.

    Real-time species and family classification with a reliability threshold the operator can trust. Each species responds to a different deterrent, so identifying the bird lets the right countermeasure fire at the right moment.

    Classification frames on a drone, a gull and a third target over wind turbines, each labelled
  2. Everything documented

    See what happened. Keep the evidence.

    Every detection is paired with a video record. No inference, no interpretation, no ambiguity. What you see is what is there.

    A drone detection card with its night camera frame beside the restricted airspace map
  3. Track movement

    Follow where it moves. Understand the risk.

    Position, speed, and heading feed a live risk index, so response is weighted by actual threat rather than alarm volume.

    Three gulls in flight with their tracked flight paths drawn behind them
  4. Keep records

    Turn every detection into a usable record.

    Structured, auditable event data supports wildlife-hazard reporting and regulatory compliance, down to per-activation deterrence statistics.

    The detections grid, each card naming a species or a drone with its distance and score
  5. Take precautions

    See patterns earlier. Act before risk becomes immediate.

    BCMS® analyzes live and historical activity to reveal recurring behavior and flag developing risk, helping teams focus resources and intervene sooner.

    A drone on a collision path with the warning frame and its projected track
  • Detection range

    Around 3 km

    Depending on the size of the bird and the camera.

  • Day and night

    Thermal cameras keep detecting after dark, in flight and at rest.

    A daylight camera view of a gull over the airfieldA thermal camera view of two birds in flight at night
  • EASA rulemaking group participant

    A listed participant in EASA's rulemaking group on AI trustworthiness (RMT.0742), and a seat since October 2024 in the expert group on safety-related aerodrome equipment (RMT.0161). Innovation Partnership Contract signed in 2025.

  • Dedicated compute

    One server

    • On hardware you own
    • Or turnkey
  • Passive detection

    The cameras transmit no radio signal to find a target, unlike a radar.

    A camera unit on its mast, powered by a solar panel
    No spectrum license
  • Species classification

    Below about 1 km, once trained on the site's footage.

    A thermal camera view of two birds in flight at night
    • Detected
    • Bird of prey
    • Local risk indexLow
  • Live track

    Acquires and follows each new detection in real time.

  • 4K optical and thermal fusion

    Pan-tilt-zoom cameras under smart scanning, aimed by AI.

    • 4K optical and thermal fusion
    • Pan-tilt-zoom under smart scanning
    A pan-tilt-zoom camera unit on its mountGrey pan tilt camera with an optical and a thermal lens, cut out on a plain backgroundA white pan-tilt-zoom camera unit on its mount
  • Closed-loop deterrence

    BCMS® drives the deterrents you already own, gas cannons, distress calls, and third-party devices over documented APIs, selectively by species and risk, under the rules your team sets, with every activation logged.

    Visual repellersLaser technologyAcoustic solutions
  • Wind turbines seen from below against a clear sky

    Scales to multi-camera sites

    In wind farms, one camera can cover several turbines.

Compared

How BCMS® VENTUR compares with manual monitoring and avian radar.

  • Yes
  • Partial or conditional
  • Through integration
  • Not supported
  • Not applicable
[[How BCMS® VENTUR compares with]] manual monitoring and avian radar.
Manual monitoringAvian radarBCMS® VENTUR
Continuous monitoringPartial or conditional: Yes: Yes:
Airborne-object detectionPartial or conditional: Yes: Yes:
Ground-object detectionPartial or conditional: Not supported: Yes:
Bird and drone classificationNot supported: Not supported: Yes:
Species identificationYes: Not supported: Yes:
Movement trackingPartial or conditional: Partial or conditional: Yes:
Visual verification with event-linked videoNot supported: Not supported: Yes:
Dynamic risk assessmentNot supported: Partial or conditional: Yes:
Structured event recordsPartial or conditional: Partial or conditional: Yes:
Recurring-pattern analysisPartial or conditional: Partial or conditional: Yes:
Risk-based alertsPartial or conditional: Partial or conditional: Yes:
Deterrence integrationNot applicable: Through integration: Yes:
Human oversight built inYes: Yes: Yes:
Site-specific AI training and biologist supportNot applicable: Not supported: Yes:
Detection from day one, fine-tuned in weeksNot applicable: Partial or conditional: Yes:
Passive operation, no spectrum licenseYes: Not supported: Yes:

Species identification: below about 1 km, once trained on the site's footage. The radar column describes the avian radar class in general, never a named product.

Regulated environments

Our work with EASA, and your data

  • EASA RMT.0742

    Listed participant
  • EASA RMT.0161

    Expert group seat
  • EASA

    Innovation partnership
  • Reg. (EU) 139/2014

    The frame
  • GDPR

    Policy in force
  • ISO 9001

    Quality management system
Our team

Speak to our team

BCMS® is built and run by THE EDGE COMPANY's engineers and biologists, the people who survey your site, train the models on its footage, and author the reports your team files.

Reference calls and site visits are arranged with scope agreed in advance and limited to system validation. Several installations are under NDA, and live remote access to a working site is granted under NDA for the same reason. It is policy, not a lack of trust.

Before any visit, we state which components the reference site runs against what your configuration would ship. You compare what you would actually buy.

A THE EDGE COMPANY engineer with a tablet on a wind farm access road, turbines behind
Industries

See how BCMS® works in your industry.

One detection platform, tuned to what each operation protects: aircraft, turbines, wildlife, airspace.

Wading birds at rest on a wetland at first light

Wildlife preservation

The same detection and documentation, designed for conservation: continuous bird monitoring, seasonal migration tracking and biodiversity records. Non-lethal by design.

A small drone in the camera frame with its detection card

Drone detection

The cameras that watch for birds classify drones with the same pipeline: one system for operational safety and airspace security, detection and classification, never neutralization.

Installations

Where BCMS® runs today

One pin per site, by lifecycle status and product line, kept current from our own records. Names on request.

FAQ

Questions teams ask first.

How is BCMS® different from avian radar?

Radar returns give range and bearing without visual confirmation. BCMS® classifies what it sees, detects objects on the ground as well as in the air, and pairs every event with a video record. The cameras transmit no radio signal to find a target, unlike a radar, so there is nothing to coordinate with avionics or ILS.

Do we need a spectrum license or ATC coordination?

No. Detection is passive and needs no spectrum license. Camera stations reach the server over fiber or low-power radio links planned at the site survey, and measurements at operating airports demonstrated no interference with airport equipment.

How long does deployment take?

The system starts making detections as soon as it is powered up; fine-tuning and calibration take about two weeks. Implementation typically runs about 90 days from contract, driven mainly by procurement and customs. Installations use above-ground pole mounts on concrete blocks, so no excavation is required.

What happens in fog or heavy weather?

The system continues to operate with performance that scales with visibility; degraded modes alert the operator and mark coverage gaps. Operationally, conditions that reduce optical performance also ground the birds, so the residual risk profile mirrors the biology.

Does it detect drones?

Yes. One system covers operational safety against bird strikes and physical security against drone incursions, with classification distinguishing the two. BCMS® detects and documents drones; it does not neutralize them.

Can it work with the deterrents we already have?

Yes. BCMS® sits on top of existing dispersal hardware and makes it selective. Gas cannons, distress calls, and third-party devices are driven over documented APIs, activated by species and risk level under the rules your team sets, with every activation logged.

Is BCMS® certified?

No European certification scheme for this equipment exists yet. THE EDGE COMPANY works with EASA, under an Innovation Partnership Contract signed in 2025, on a concept of operations for BCMS® at aerodromes. Our data protection policy is in force, and GDPR documentation is available on request.

Who operates the system day to day?

BCMS® needs no specialist radar operators: its output is designed to be read by standard wildlife-control personnel. Professional services cover training, continuous model re-training, and yearly biologist-authored operational reports.

Can we evaluate it before buying?

Yes. THE EDGE COMPANY offers a try-and-buy route: the system is evaluated on your site against mutually agreed KPIs before purchase, then converts to acquisition or an operational lease.

Talk to our team

Thirty minutes with a technical colleague, not a sales presentation. Bring your site and your hazard picture; we bring the site-survey checklist.

More about your site