Protect biodiversity, promote sustainability: The start-up from Greifswald protects flora and fauna.
Every year, hundreds of thousands of wild animals are killed during the management of agricultural areas. Protection measures are cumbersome and are only implemented on a few areas.
The Greifswald company develops AI algorithms and software, with the help of which wild animals can be efficiently recognized using thermal imaging drones and subsequently protected.
Thanks to their innovative technology, wildlife such as fawns or birds can be detected early on agricultural areas and protected from hazards such as mowing or other agricultural activities. The combination of artificial intelligence and thermal imaging drones provides high precision and reliability – this improves both the safety of the animals and the efficiency of the farmers.
Agricultural Technology 2023
How the interaction with field robotics works was demonstrated in 2023 as a TRL5/6 prototype at Agritechnica together with the agricultural machinery manufacturer CLAAS and the robotics startup Agxeed.
A wide range of applications – from protection in agriculture to solar systems.
The system is also used to protect endangered ground-nesting birds, for people searches, or for inspecting solar systems. More than 500 customers are already using the company’s technology. The start-up was awarded the OZ-Existenzgründerpreis in 2022 and the KfW Award Gründen in 2023, and currently employs 10 staff members.
Gründers Hinweis
The founding fits perfectly in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, where nature meets modern agriculture. In a time when biodiversity is one of the central future issues, it provides an important piece of the puzzle for the protection of agro-biodiversity.
High technology, ethics and nature – these are the topics I am passionate about.
Founder Tobias Dahms
Sustainability is therefore also the topic of the second founding.
The ecosm GmbH monitors and analyzes ecosystems such as waters and moors with high-precision, but cost-effective sensor technology and IoT network technology. This supports companies in complying with legal requirements and at the same time utilizing ecosystem services optimally for economic success.
In the field of nature-based climate protection measures, the company’s peatland protection monitoring system is a key building block for generating carbon certificates for the first commercial provider of such certificates in Europe. The technology currently monitors sites in real-time in Latvia, Poland, and Germany.
Climate and biodiversity protection – this also fits perfectly with Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Our country is particularly predestined for nature-based solutions in climate protection and the use of high technology to protect biodiversity due to its high proportion of moor and agricultural areas.
Question 1: What works particularly well in your opinion in the start-up ecosystem in MV?
The scene is well networked and knows how to generate attention. The path to decision-makers is short.
Question 2: What do you wish for the future?
We as a society are currently facing many major challenges.
At all levels – from local to global – solutions are needed. I would like to contribute to this and of course hope for a lot of support and like-minded people. Currently, we are primarily looking for support in the area of marketing.
Question 3: How did you become aware of the founding shipyard?
I came to the shipyard at the invitation after receiving the OZ-Existenzgründerpreis. Originally, I’m not the classic start-up founder and unfortunately, I rarely have time to participate in the activities of the founding shipyard. However, I find the performance behind the construction of this community remarkable.
