Animal detection system and method

#The present invention relates generally to animal detection systems, and more particularly to roadside animal detection systems.

#Existing animal detection systems (“ADSs”) include sensor stations and warning stations. When an animal is detected by one of these sensor stations, the warning stations illuminate lights, which are intended to warn drivers of the presence of the detected animal.

#There are only about 34 different locations in the world (12 in North America and 22 in Europe) where ADSs have been tested or permanently installed. Of those 34, only 8 are still in operation today. The majority of the ADSs that were removed had problems, which included (a) a high rate of false positives (providing a warning when an animal was not in the area), (b) a high rate of false negatives (providing no warning when an animal was in the area), (c) a wide variety of maintenance issues resulting from complex hardware that was difficult to fix and was not readily available, (d) an inability to accurately detect the direction in which an animal is moving, (e) large costs associated with the purchase and installation of ADSs, and (f) large bulky equipment that is not aesthetically pleasing. These problems have discouraged acceptance of ADSs installed along roadways.

#For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings and the subsequent description. Briefly, the drawings are:

#FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a sensor station according to the invention;

#FIG. 1B is similar to FIG. 1A, but a panel has been removed to show components of the sensor station;

#The invention may be embodied as an ADS having two types of stations: (a) sensor stations 10, and (b) localized warning stations 13 that may be placed at line-of-sight intervals along a road 16. FIGS. 1A, 1B and 1C depict a sensor station 10 according to the invention, and FIGS. 2A and 2B depict a warning station 13 according to the invention. Each sensor station 10 may have at least two types of sensors. When an animal 19 is detected by a sensor station 10, a warning signal is sent from the sensor station 10 to one or more of the warning stations 13. Upon receiving such a warning signal, the warning station 13 provides an indication, which can be interpreted by drivers that an animal 19 has been detected.

#Warning stations 13 may be spaced less than every quarter mile, and preferably are spaced every 250 feet, in order to provide drivers with sufficient advanced warning that an animal 19 has been detected in the area and to allow drivers more time to slow down. A small distance between warning stations 13 may reduce the rate of false negatives reported by drivers. A 250 foot spacing may coincide with the spacing of reflector poles found on many highways, and so it may be possible to mount the warning stations 13 on such reflector poles, thereby saving money during installation. By keeping the spacing of warning stations 13 small, the present invention may allow the location of an animal 19 to be more precisely identified to drivers, which in turn may allow for providing a more meaningful warning to drivers.

#The sensor stations 10 may include at least two types of sensors. The two types of sensors may rely on electromagnetic energy with different frequency ranges. For example, in one embodiment of the invention, each sensor station 10 includes a laser break-beam sensor 22 and also an infrared break-beam sensor 25. The emitters 28, 31 corresponding to the sensors 22, 25 may have different angles (i.e. varying areas) of coverage. For example, the first emitter/sensor 22, 28 combination may have a smaller area of coverage than the second emitter/sensor 25, 31 combination. FIG. 1D depicts the beams of two types of energy emitters 28, 31, one emitter 28 having an electromagnetic energy beam 34 that covers a narrow area, and the other having an electromagnetic beam 37 that covers a wide area. For example, the emitter 28 may be a laser and the emitter 31 may be an infrared emitter. By having sensors 22, 25 with different areas of detection, the first combination of emitter 28 and sensor 22 may be selected to detect an animal 19 over a narrower area, than the second combination of emitter 31 and sensor 25. This may be useful, for example, for avoiding false positives.