Kestrel is a software system for real-time analysis of aerial surveillance video. It detects and tracks moving objects on the landscape below an aircraft, such as an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). Kestrel’s key strength is its very high speed: Everything is processed in real-time.

Current aerial surveillance inherently has a number of limitations due to its heavy reliance on human eyes for analysis and low bandwidth video communications, including:

• Human operators can only detect relatively large or obvious objects. To ensure objects are large enough to be detected, UAVs must fly either at low altitudes, or sensors must be zoomed in. This significantly reduces the area being covered; creating a view of the ground that is similar to ‘looking through a straw’.
• Human operators tend to focus heavily on what they already see, potentially missing other important objects
• Human operators cannot remain vigilant for long periods of time.
• Bandwidth limitations limit the amount and quality of information being sent to human operators.

Kestrel provides real-time processing for moving object detection and tracking. By remaining vigilant 100% of the time, Kestrel is able to alert operators to moving objects whenever they occur. Kestrel significantly increases the chance that operators will detect moving objects.

Because Kestrel can reliably detect objects less than 2 pixels in size, the UAV can fly higher, or the same sensor can be used with wider fields of view. Kestrel will reliably detect moving objects within an area 20 times larger than that covered by human operators. You are no longer looking through a straw.

• Detection and tracking of objects too small or too slow for human eyes to detect.
• Detect up to 100 moving objects in less than two seconds, providing excellent situational awareness.
• Operation over mountainous terrain and dense urban landscapes.
• Kestrel specialises in able to indicate objects that are camouflaged or are extremely low contrast in IR surveillance
• Passive “Look down” detection of aircraft and ground vehicles from High Altitude UAVs.

Kestrel can either be used as a simple plug in to your existing ground station video feed, or alternatively installed onto the payload of your UAV for superior performance. Click on one of the links below to find out more.