bAWARE FAQ – warning birds away from live power lines and wind turbines

Status: October 2026. Statements about bAWARE follow its approved public facts; outside facts link to their source.

About bAWARE

What is bAWARE?

bAWARE (bionic Animal Warning and Response Electronics) makes wearable electronics that give a wild animal a sixth sense for the dangers we built into its world. Bionic here means using artificial electronic and mechanical parts to replace, mimic, or enhance natural biological functions in animals, notably birds such as raptors.

The first danger it addresses is the power line. Power lines electrocute a bird roughly every three seconds. A wearable sensor detects a live line and warns the bird away before it touches the wire. A GPS localization module also maps position against a database of known hazards, most notably wind turbines, and produces the same warning, leading to a response by the animal that saves its life.

Who is behind bAWARE?

bAWARE was founded by Gunter Schoech, who runs it as CEO: a German/French engineer, entrepreneur since 2005 and hobby falconer. He is also one of the two named inventors on the patent application.

The idea was hatched with Simon Thomsett, legendary and unyielding raptor and wildlife conservationist of many decades, climber, bush pilot, veterinary surgeon and true "Swiss army knife". The Raptor Research Foundation honoured him with its Partners for Raptors Lifetime Achievement Award in 2022.

Is bAWARE raising money?

No. We are not seeking funding for the R&D, which is privately funded for maximum speed and independence. We are committed to offering a fully functioning product to the conservation community.

Today, bAWARE asks for field partners, species access and scientific standing for proving the effectiveness of the innovation and further rollout.

The problem

How many birds are electrocuted on power lines?

Roughly one every three seconds, some ten million birds a year worldwide. Nobody can count every pole on earth, so that is an order-of-magnitude figure. It matches the best peer-reviewed estimate for a single country: 0.9 to 11.6 million birds electrocuted a year in the United States alone, with a median of 5.6 million [1]. Collisions with wires are a separate hazard and are counted separately.

Why are large birds electrocuted?

A bird is electrocuted when it touches two energised parts at the same time (typically 2 phases of a 3-phase power system), or one energised part and an earthed one [2]. Large birds can bridge those gaps with their wings and feet, and in open country poles are where they perch to hunt and rest [2]. Medium-voltage distribution poles are the most dangerous, because their live parts sit close together [3]. Small birds sitting directly on a single phase are only very slightly statically charged without even noticing it.

How it works

How does bAWARE work?

The bird wears the sensor. It is a proprietary differential-antenna analog chain, not an off-the-shelf chip, and it picks up the electromagnetic field around a live power line. As the bird approaches, an acoustic warning starts at ~50 m; closer in, at ~30 m, a harmless electro-tactile stimulus discourages approach. Both distances are set in the field, over the air, so they are adjustable settings, not fixed specifications.

Why not simply a buzzer?

Because buzzers alone fail. In trials with a goshawk, a buzzer on its own produced almost no reaction, and falconry birds get completely used to the bells they wear. The sound still has a job: it announces the stimulus, so that the bird can learn to turn away on the sound alone. A one-minute video shows the first part: on day 1 a hawk startles at the buzzer and the vibration; on day 2 it no longer reacts (Why a buzzer alone is not enough).

Has teaching birds to avoid power poles worked before?

For lack of a better solution, such as bAWARE with an onboard alarm, it has been tried before to permanently teach raptors to avoid power lines in a training pen. After four released California condors died on power lines in 1993 and 1994, the recovery programme began in 1995 to train young condors on an electrified mock power pole before release. After a few landings they avoided it, and the released group was not seen landing on a power pole for more than a year [4]. However, no serious biologist could or can guarantee that the birds, which might live for decades, will not try at least once again, and that one time can well be the deadly one. So the same scientists in California pioneered techniques which would track the birds and then allow turbines to be shut down if the birds were heading towards them in dangerous proximity.

bAWARE takes the warning out of the training pen and the turbine and puts it on the bird.

Is it safe for the bird?

The electro-tactile stimulus is harmless and calibrated to work on the reflex level of the bird, making muscles twitch, similar to human muscle-toning belts. Its only purpose is to make the bird keep its distance from a wire that would kill it. Falconers and conservationists have fitted birds with radio-telemetry for decades, and bAWARE is carried the same way. We think of it as vaccinating the animal against several deadly dangers. A release mechanism that lets the unit come off the bird now works in prototype.

Which power lines does it detect?

bAWARE detects live lines of any relevant voltage, anywhere on earth. This includes all bare wires which could lead to electrocutions of any common voltages. The sensor has been tested many times on real power distribution lines (most typically 20 kV lines on wooden and reinforced-concrete poles, and 30–63 kV lattice towers). 20 kV (or as low as 5–11 kV in some countries) is the worst case (lowest voltage, thinnest cable, lowest hang = weakest fields to detect). It has also been tested on insulated 400 V wires, 230 V etc., at various heights etc. Detect that and you detect everything. The sensor has proven reliable with ample warning distance on all lines that could be dangerous to birds. The bigger lines, with hundreds of kV, are typically more of a collision risk, but can be detected at even greater distances due to their stronger fields.

Which birds is it for?

Raptors were our starting point. Large birds are the most exposed to electrocution [2], many raptors like to perch on exposed trees or other tall structures, and some of them are among the most threatened: the martial eagle, for example, is listed as Endangered and has declined by about 90 % over three generations [5].

Others that could benefit straight away, because power lines are among their main killers: the saker falcon, with 1,721 found electrocuted on Mongolian power lines between 2013 and 2018, 88 % of them young birds [6]; the Egyptian vulture, with seventeen found dead under a single 31 km stretch of line near Port Sudan [7]; Bonelli’s eagle, for which electrocution was the most common human cause of death among GPS-tracked territorial eagles in eastern Spain [8]; and the Cape vulture, whose local population in high-risk parts of South Africa’s Eastern Cape electrocution alone was predicted to drive extinct within 20 to 35 years [9].

Our aim is to protect the most vulnerable of species in terms of numbers and exposure to electrocution. While it is impossible to protect every single bird specimen threatened by electrocution, it is unfortunately much more feasible to protect certain species threatened by extinction specimen by specimen than to make their entire habitat and where they might migrate safe.

How is it powered?

By miniature solar panels made by Druid, which already sells them to other tag and device makers.

Can bAWARE be combined with a GPS tag?

Yes. bAWARE and Druid Technology (Chengdu, China), a manufacturer of classic wildlife GPS tags, are jointly developing one product: a bAWARE board carrying the sensor and the alarms, combined with a Druid classic tag for conventional tracking. Druid’s fully featured board stays unchanged and is added as a component. The combination is what lets us measure exactly where (GPS) and how (accelerometer data) birds react to the alarms, which is the evidence the field trials need.

Evidence and status

What has been proven so far?

Sensor, electro-tactile stimulus and remote deliberate release now work in prototype, repeatedly, on real power lines and on live birds. Integration and miniaturization are ongoing, and have confirmed the feasibility of the idea. The integrated system has not been trialled yet: it soon needs controlled field trials and quantified proof.

Can I buy bAWARE now?

Not yet: bAWARE is coming soon. The integrated system is heading into controlled field trials, and we are looking for field partners and species access for them. We want to hear from the people who will use it as early as possible, so tell us about your situation through the contact page.

Is bAWARE patented?

An international patent application under the PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) was filed on 9 February 2026 and published on 13 August 2026 as WO 2026/167633.

Retrofitting and other methods

Why not just retrofit the poles?

Retrofitting is right, and we support it actively. Done well, it works: correcting 6,560 dangerous pylons in Andalucía cut electrocutions of the Spanish imperial eagle by 62 % across the region [10]. But retrofitting cannot keep pace with construction, and it cannot follow a migrating bird across a border. Retrofits also age: after more than ten years, degraded insulation was linked to higher electrocution rates [11]. The two approaches have opposite blind spots. That is exactly why both are needed.

What about bird flight diverters and line markers?

They answer a different hazard. Markers and diverters make a wire more visible so that flying birds do not collide with it; on average they halve collisions [12]. Electrocution mostly happens at the pole, when a bird touches two energised parts, or an energised and an earthed part, at the same time [2]. bAWARE’s warning is primarily built for electrocution. However, since it senses even the weakest of lines, it will also warn birds wearing it of approaching larger power transmission lines at even greater distances, and thus also avoid collisions with them.

How is bAWARE different from GPS geofencing?

A geofencing collar compares an animal’s GPS position with a boundary drawn on a map and warns it when it tries to cross [13]. bAWARE’s sensor detects the live line itself, so the warning does not depend on the line being on anyone’s map. bAWARE also includes GPS geofencing for well known hazards such as wind turbines.

Why not use geofencing also for the electrocution problem on small power distribution lines?

Geofencing can only work if the location of the hazard is known and documented, so waypoints can be fed into the hazard database. The small powerlines are often not documented, slightly wrong, or the databases are out of date. The number of waypoints would be enormous, given the lines add up to thousands of circumferences of the earth. Furthermore, the localization precision of GPS and similar is usually no better than about 5 m, while these structures are of similar size. Since they act as involuntary antennas, giving their exact position away by electromagnetic fields, the sensor approach is simply far superior.

Does bAWARE also work against wind turbines or collisions?

Yes. While bAWARE’s origin story was to protect raptors against electrocutions on power distribution lines, it will also warn against power transmission line collisions with the same sensor, and being equipped with GPS from the start, it will also warn of collisions with wind turbines.

Sources

1. Loss, S.R., Will, T. & Marra, P.P. (2014). Refining estimates of bird collision and electrocution mortality at power lines in the United States. PLoS ONE 9(7): e101565. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0101565
2. Avian Power Line Interaction Committee (APLIC) (2006). Suggested Practices for Avian Protection on Power Lines: The State of the Art in 2006. Edison Electric Institute, APLIC and the California Energy Commission. https://www.aplic.org/uploads/files/2643/SuggestedPractices2006(LR-2).pdf
3. Martín Martín, J., Garrido López, J.R., Clavero Sousa, H. & Barrios, V. (eds.) (2022). Wildlife and power lines: Guidelines for preventing and mitigating wildlife mortality associated with electricity distribution networks. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN. https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.CH.2022.10.en
4. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (1996). Establishment of a Nonessential Experimental Population of California Condors in Northern Arizona; Final Rule. Federal Register 61(201): 54044–54060, 16 October 1996. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-1996-10-16/html/96-26535.htm
5. Shaw, P., Ogada, D., Dunn, L. et al. (2024). African savanna raptors show evidence of widespread population collapse and a growing dependence on protected areas. Nature Ecology & Evolution 8(1): 45–56. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-023-02236-0
6. Dixon, A. et al. (2020). Variation in Electrocution Rate and Demographic Composition of Saker Falcons Electrocuted at Power Lines in Mongolia. Journal of Raptor Research 54(2): 136–146. https://doi.org/10.3356/0892-1016-54.2.136
7. Angelov, I., Hashim, I. & Oppel, S. (2013). Persistent electrocution mortality of Egyptian Vultures Neophron percnopterus over 28 years in East Africa. Bird Conservation International 23(1): 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0959270912000123
8. López-Peinado, A., Urios, V. & López-López, P. (2024). A comprehensive analysis of spatial and temporal patterns of anthropogenic adult mortality of Bonelli’s eagles in eastern Spain. Journal of Wildlife Management 88(8): e22643. https://doi.org/10.1002/jwmg.22643
9. Boshoff, A.F., Minnie, J.C., Tambling, C.J. & Michael, M.D. (2011). The impact of power line-related mortality on the Cape Vulture Gyps coprotheres in a part of its range, with an emphasis on electrocution. Bird Conservation International 21(3): 311–327. https://doi.org/10.1017/S095927091100013X
10. López-López, P. et al. (2011). Solving man-induced large-scale conservation problems: the Spanish imperial eagle and power lines. PLoS ONE 6(3): e17196. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0017196
11. Guil, F. et al. (2011). Minimising mortality in endangered raptors due to power lines: the importance of spatial aggregation to optimize the application of mitigation measures. PLoS ONE 6(11): e28212. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0028212
12. Bernardino, J. et al. (2019). Re-assessing the effectiveness of wire-marking to mitigate bird collisions with power lines: A meta-analysis and guidelines for field studies. Journal of Environmental Management 252: 109651. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.109651
13. Cabral de Mel, S.J., Seneweera, S.P., de Mel, R.K., Dangolla, A., Weerakoon, D.K., Maraseni, T. & Allen, B.L. (2022). Current and Future Approaches to Mitigate Conflict between Humans and Asian Elephants: The Potential Use of Aversive Geofencing Devices. Animals 12(21): 2965. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12212965