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AI Sees Nature: Flox Protects Infrastructure from Wildlife
14 Oct
Summary
- Flox uses AI and on-device models to identify animals and scare them away.
- The system adapts responses to prevent animal habituation to deterrents.
- 150 Flox devices are deployed across North America, Europe, and Australia.
Wildlife strikes have caused significant financial damage to civil aviation and rail operations globally. Sara Nozkova, with a background in transportation and autonomous vehicles, founded Flox Intelligence to address this issue.
Flox developed an AI-driven system that uses edge devices equipped with perception systems trained on wildlife behavior. These devices detect movement, identify animals with on-device models, and emit species-specific sounds to deter them. The system is designed to learn and vary its responses, preventing animals from becoming accustomed to the deterrents.
Approximately 150 Flox devices are currently operational in North America, Europe, and Australia. They are deployed at locations such as airfields, rail corridors, national parks, and agricultural lands. Flox offers a subscription-based software platform for monitoring and reporting, with future plans to integrate the system into moving vehicles like trains and drones.
The company has secured approximately $5 million in pre-seed and seed funding and is initiating a $10 million Series A round. This funding will support expanding device deployment and extending the system's applications beyond wildlife deterrence.
