Sun, Oct 25
Behavioural Ecology & Conservation Group / Colombia / 2026Digital & Tech · Design & Packaging

WingSentry.

An AI system from a Colombian university research group that watches birds with thermal cameras and microphones without disturbing them, so tourism operators can route visitors around nesting sites. Horizon FCB in Dubai named it, branded it and launched it.

Brand
Behavioural Ecology & Conservation Group
Market
Colombia
Region
Global
Year
2026
WingSentry

The challenge

Armed conflict kept much of Colombia's wilderness off-limits for decades; since the 2016 peace agreement those landscapes have gradually reopened, and tourism has followed. Campaign Middle East reports that more people, noise, artificial light and habitat disruption have begun to affect bird populations, contributing to nest abandonment, altered flight patterns and lower breeding success in some areas. The entry asks how Colombia could 'grow tourism without damaging the very ecosystems that attract visitors in the first place'.

The idea

WingSentry combines thermal imaging with bioacoustic sensors 'to observe wildlife with zero habitat disturbance' and turns the data into practical guidance that helps tourism operators design routes, or bio-corridors, around sensitive nesting areas (Campaign Middle East). The research behind it, at Universidad del Rosario in Bogotá, studies oilbirds in caves; the university's magazine says the lead researcher, the biologist Juan Diego Pineda, began training an AI model for that research in November 2025 with BehaveAI, software from the University of Exeter. Horizon FCB's Dubai team built the communications from scratch: the name, the brand identity, the launch film, the landing page, social content and the press launch in Colombia.

Results

  • More than 120 hours of thermal video analysed and more than 50 million data points collected by March 2026, according to Horizon FCB's award entry

Case study source: Campaign Middle East Source ↗

Awards

  • Cresta Awards 2026Creative Use of AI – Scalable AI Use in AdvertisingGold
  • Cresta Awards 2026Digital Design – Innovative use of new technologiesGold
  • Cresta Awards 2026B2B – B2B CampaignBronze
  • Cresta Awards 2026Jury Chair AwardJury Chair Award
  • Cresta Awards 2026Creative Technology and The Future – Use of AIGold
  • New York Festivals Advertising Awards 2026: Bronze in The Future Now: Responsibility & Impact (Responsible Innovation)

Credits

Research partner
Universidad del Rosario
Lead researcher
Juan Diego Pineda
Director of the research group
Adriana Maldonado Chaparro

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