It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Robird!

The latest line of defence in keeping wildlife from flight paths atthe Edmonton International Airport is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) called a robird.

Painted to look like a female falcon, the robotic birdswoops inwith wings flapping up and down.

• Robotic falcons to scare away real birds at Edmonton airport
• 'It's the future': Small prairie village pins economic fortunes on drones

Looking from anairplane window travelling overEdmonton, a passenger might not even notice the difference.

"I would challenge them to tell me if it is a robird or a real bird," said AeriumAnalyticspilot Justin Quesnel.

"As far as the birds are concerned, they are programmed to see these and run."

AeriumAnalytics, a Calgary-based company whichis working with Clear Flight Solutions out of the Netherlands, demonstratedthe new UAV technology Monday at the Edmonton International Airport.

The robirdsare a pilot project that will take flight inJuly and continue intothe fall.

The droneswill be part of the existing wildlife managementsystem that includes habitat relocation, pyrotechnics and a live falcon that is brought in to assist in keeping the airport runways safe.

"It's definitely cutting edge," said Jul Wojnowski,a wildlife specialist with the airport.

"There is going to be lots of people interested in how this works and we are looking at this trial run to see how effective this is for long term for airports."

It will also be watched closely by NAV Canada and Transport Canada as drone technology is strictly regulated in Canada.

All drones must fly in line of sight and have two operators, a pilot and observer on hand.

AeriumAnalytics sees the robirds as a foot-in-the-door for drone technologyin Alberta. The company uses drones for surveying, planning and inspecting workplace sectors like mining, forestry, agriculture as well as the oil and gas industry.

It started with a single UAV pilot and now see a future where they will need eightto 10 pilots very quickly.

"Every month there is a new technology, a new advancement, there is a new sensor," said managing director JordanCicoria.

"We spend a lot of time working with the airport working with NAV Canada working with Transport Canada, allowing them to understand what we are doing and why not only is this safe, but is a benefit to them all."

Aerium Analyticshas joinedthe consortium of companies in theAlberta Aerospace and Technology Centre (AATC) at Edmonton International Airport.

"It is really about incubating of technology companies, testing of new technologies and seeing where cross industry collaboration could be for innovation and help drive technologies in Alberta," said Myron Keehn, vice president of commercial development with theEdmonton International Airport.