People and wildlife are increasingly coming into conflict over space and food. This influences biodiversity and can lead to big costs. FLOX Robotics is the tech company that envisions a world without fences and protective hunting. Instead, FLOX Robotics has created an AI-driven system to minimize disturbance to wildlife.
Whether it’s wild boars eating crops in Sweden, collisions between elks and trains in Norway, bird strikes at airports, or elephants feasting on pineapples in India, the consequences of humans and animals sharing the same space are dire. It is expected that almost 90 % of species will lose habitat to agricultural expansion by 2050.
Sara Nozkova is the CEO and founder of FLOX Robotics, a company sprung from the KTH Royal Institute of Technology. FLOX Robotics was born out of a shared vision to revolutionize wildlife management using wildlife science paired with new technologies like AI and robotics. The idea emerged when Sara and her colleagues realized the immense potential of autonomous drones in monitoring and managing wildlife and preserving ecosystems in shared landscapes.
Since the start in 2019, a lot has happened for the Stockholm-based company. In October 2022, Flox Robotics was granted funding in two projects worth 5 million SEK (approx. €434,000). In 2023, FLOX Robotics gained big customers such as the Swedish Transport Administration, the City of Stockholm and aviation company Swedavia, which will now receive help in saving costs by avoiding collisions with wildlife. In March 2024, FLOX Robotics welcomed three new investors: E14 Invest II, ALMI Invest, and Argand Partners.
– The recent investment is a significant milestone for FLOX Robotics. It will primarily be used to enhance our sales internationally to serve the pipeline of customers worldwide, as well as enhance R&D capabilities, allowing us to innovate further and refine our autonomous technologies. Additionally, part of the investment will go towards expanding our team with skilled professionals and scaling up our operations to meet the increasing demand. This financial boost will also support our efforts to enter new markets and strengthen our presence in existing ones, Sara says.
How it works
FLOX Robotics designs, develops and deploys technologies for wildlife management. The AI technology detects animal species and uses robotics to enable drones to herd wildlife from areas where they are not supposed to be.
The FLOX Robotics technology can be used in agricultural fields, young tree plantations, public spaces, golf courses, and airports, alongside transportation infrastructure, but the technology is also useful in urban settings where wildlife and humans co-exist. The customer base is varied, according to Sara.
– Our customers span various sectors, including cities, mining companies, train operators, forest, and agricultural companies, as well as wildlife management agencies. Our technology offers a unique blend of efficiency and effectiveness, making it an attractive option for anyone looking to mitigate human-wildlife conflicts. This transformative ecosystem, where FLOX Robotics’ technologies are integrated into various platforms – be it autonomous drones, stationary devices, or even trains – embodies a future where technology ensures that human expansion doesn’t come at the expense of the wild.
The Flox Robotics system has a species-specific deterrence capability. The AI technology can identify various species captured in its field of vision. Based on this identification, the system decides which deterrent sound to deploy. This means that the system can be configured to avoid activating when certain species, such as specific birds or smaller animals are detected, making it both effective and respectful to the ecological balance.
Ready for other markets
After successful trials at several Swedavia airports and securing investments and big customers in Sweden, FLOX Robotics is ready to take its solutions internationally.
– We are actively exploring opportunities to bring our solutions to international markets. We are starting with US airports for our drone-based solutions, and worldwide for our stationary devices, especially for traffic administrations, mining companies and other corporations, Sara says and continues:
– The next big thing for FLOX Robotics is the expansion to the US market, especially airports; we have some exciting news coming up later this year!
Read more about FLOX Robotics: floxrobotics.com
