Wind turbines to bother radar systems no more?

We all learn a new thing every single day – and for today, did you know that wind turbines are able to garble up radar systems? Yes, that is right – with wind turbines in the vicinity, air traffic control can be an extremely stressful job since all the figures and images you see would be jumbled up. Dr. Dorothy Robyn, deputy under secretary of defense in the US, recently mentioned that wind turbines do pose an unacceptable risk to national security and military training in select areas. This has caused Cambridge Consultants to see an opportunity – and the company that delivered Bluetooth technology as well as the first GSM videophone decided to solve this dilemma using a 3D holographic radar which is smart enough to tell the difference between aircraft and wind turbines, regardless of size.

Cambridge Consultants decided to approach this problem by spinning out a startup, Aveillant, which will focus on technology that will be developed in conjunction with assistance from airport operators, wind farm developers, the UK’s Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and its Ministry of Defence. It will definitely work differently compared to traditional radar, where the holographic radar illuminates the entire field of view at once so that one can tell the difference between moving and still objects.

Edwin Kee
Categories: Gadgets, Transportation
Tags: radar, turbine, wind turbine