An estimated 57 million birds are killed each year in the United States from collisions with powerlines. Bird flight diverters are devices designed to deter birds from striking powerlines while in flight. While bird flight diverters are effective at increasing visibility and preventing collisions, the installation is dangerous. Attaching diverters to powerlines typically involves linemen hanging out of a helicopter and attaching the devices one at a time. The engineers at FulcrumAir recognized the safety concerns of this approach and developed an ideal alternative. The LineFly™ is the first in FulcrumAir’s suite of aerial robotics. A fully autonomous robot, the LineFly™ installs Power Line Sentry Hawk Eye™ bird flight diverters quickly, safely, and efficiently. There’s never been a better solution.
The LineFly™ is the world’s safest and most efficient method for installing bird flight diverters, with the capability to place up to 24 diverters automatically and precisely within minutes.
The LineFly’s™ can operate on OPGW or shield wires while the transmission lines are energized, or directly on energized distribution conductors.
In addition to promoting the safety of migratory birds, bird flight diverters also protect powerlines from the damage caused by bird collisions.
With no helicopter or bucket truck required, the LineFly™ contributes to safety and environmental efforts by reducing carbon output, protecting the right away, and limiting close-contact for workers.
Our drones are designed for a single purpose, to sling robotic tools to conduct overhead work. They carry our robots long distances to precision place them on an overhead wire. The E7500™ and E2500HP™ completely replace the helicopters, linemen, and bucket trucks in conducting the most dangerous aspects of overhead work, letting machines do the most precarious and dangerous work while operators remain safely on the ground. The E7500™ is paired with the LineFly™ and the E2500HP™ with the Mini LineFly™, and all equipment is moved to the project site in fully outfitted Mobile Command Centers containing all necessary equipment to do the job.
In locations where we are prohibited to fly due to regulatory limitations, a bucket truck lifts the LineFly™’s onto the wire. This process allows us to complete installs in flight-restricted locations, still eliminating the need for helicopters and reducing safety-risks to linemen.
The U.S. electrical grid is the largest interconnected machine on Earth. In 2018 alone, electricity consumption in North America grew by 48% from 3,471 TWh in 1990 to 5,150 TWh. Demand continues to accelerate rapidly.
The U.S. electrical grid is one of the oldest and most outdated in the world, in need of major repairs, maintenance, reconfiguration and expansion. Seventy percent of the US electrical grid was built between WW2 and 1975.
As the power grid continues to deteriorate, substantial portions of it must be reconfigured to connect to new solar and wind sources of power generation and to service shifting populations throughout the country.
