While experts warn there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution to stopping unwanted bear encounters, one scientist believes a new radar technology could become the latest tool to help humans and bears live safely alongside each other.Polar bears may inhabit a vastly different habitat than bears in Alberta, but the species have at least one thing in common — both are interacting with humans at an increasing rate.Over a thousand kilometres away, residents in Churchill, Man.
York said the radar system, dubbed "Bear-dar" by the organization, is based on technology developed for military use, a factor that made training the AI to recognize polar bears a time-consuming task."Radars were designed to pick up hard targets, vehicles, airplanes, and to pick up people. Polar bears are uniquely adapted to evade radar because they're furry. And so all that soft fur makes them a very unusual radar target.
Remote radar towers could also be fitted with strobe lights or loudspeakers that could be automatically triggered by a bear's presence, and used to deter it. In designing the program, York said, Polar Bears International collaborated with several bear experts from Alberta to share experiences.