But I think as technology progresses, this stuff will only get more inexpensive. So do I think it's going to be accessible for every community? To start, probably not. KIRSCHHOFFER: Yeah, so these things are pretty expensive. RASCOE: And how much does this cost, like, for the community? We need an accurate tool, and building AI models that can say exactly what the animal is out there is where we're headed. And that's where the AI component comes in. And really, if this is going to be an effective tool around a community, we don't want it alerting on the moose. What we've found out is that the device is extremely sensitive and it sees everything - everything down to the little arctic foxes that are running around, wolverines, wolves, moose - everything. KIRSCHHOFFER: Yeah, so the device itself works very well. RASCOE: This is still in the testing phase, right? You've been testing the technology in Churchill, Manitoba. If something's moving out there, especially something as big as a bear, it's pretty darn easy for this radar to see. And what it does is it just essentially looks for movement. It has no moving parts - pretty energy-efficient little device. The thing, really, is about the size of an iPad.
And we're looking at using it, of course, with animals and detecting the bears as they come in to a community or other sensitive areas. This particular setup comes right from them. They do a lot of kind of security and defense sort of contracts.
The particular device we're testing is made by SpotterRF. So the technology that we're using is a motion-tracking radar. RASCOE: Can you talk a little bit more about the Bear-dar? Like, how does it work? Kirschhoffer, director of field operations for Polar Bears International. It's a radar system to clock incoming polar bears and warn people close by. Now the conservation organization Polar Bears International is testing a technology they think might help - Bear-dar. That raises the chances of bear-human run-ins that are dangerous for both. As climate change has reduced sea ice in the Arctic, polar bears have been spending more time on land.