Roadside Detection



  • Each year in North America, there are more than 1,000,000 wildlife/vehicle crashes, which result in an estimated $1.2 billion in property damage and 100 fatalities. Past efforts at developing deterrents, such as bumper-mounted whistles, fencing, and deer reflectors on the roadside, have not proven effective.
    To deal with this issue, Rotalec has developed a solar-powered system that uses warnings signs, and flashing lights, creating a “virtual fence” to alert motorists that wildlife is near the roadway.
  • Description of WWS
    Wildlife Warning Systems (WWS) are implemented with the goal of reducing the number of Wildlife Vehicle Collisions. The basic components of the system are the detectors, signs and wireless communication devices. As wildlife approaches a roadway that is enabled with our WWS, they break a double beam from the IR sensor. The IR sensor is set at a specific height so both beams must break at the same time and for a predetermined amount of time to confirm presence of targeted wildlife and not smaller animals, helping to eliminate false positives. Once the beam break is confirmed, the detectors with IR sensors alert multiple warning signs, using wireless devices and turn on beacons within 1 second and up to 1 km away. The location of the IR sensors (10-15m from the side of the road) create a true warning system, allowing motorists the time and distance to slow down before wildlife reaches the roadway.
    Key Features and Functionality

  • All hardware is low-cost and off-the-shelf
  • Wireless network eliminates wiring between signs and detectors
  • Long range wireless - detectors and sign communicate distance is up to 1km
  • Smart wireless devices allows for any detector to activate any sign for a user-defined period of time
  • Solar power and wireless communications ideal for installations in isolated locations
  • No external controllers, power supply or computers involved
  • Hills and corners have little effect on wireless communication
  • Easy to install additional detectors and signs to existing system
  • Easily add motion sensors, cameras and other devices to system