AI system to detect presence of elephants on Athirappilly road

The Forest department has come up with a warning system to alert the presence of wild elephants on the Athirappilly road as incidents of elephant attacks have become frequent.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) elephant detection programme is implemented on an experimental basis to track the movement of wild elephants at Thumboormuzhy. LED display boards have been placed on both sides of the road to alert passengers on the presence of elephants.

Based on image

“The AI camera can track images up to 100-120 m. The software detects animals based on their shape. There is no need to capture the full image of an elephant. The camera can identify the animal even with partial images such as that of ears or the trunk. Right now we are focusing on elephants. The idea is to eventually upgrade it to detect other animals too,” said O. Sambuddha Majumdar, Divisional Forest Officer, Chalakudy.

The system that works 24X7 has an AI camera. Once the elephant reaches its range, the AI camera will identify it and send a message to the server.

Warning messages

“Once the image is captured, we can use various ways to alert passengers. LED display boards have been placed on both sides of the road. Once the elephant reaches near the road, warning messages will appear on the LED board in English and Malayalam with red light. We can send SMS and WhatsApp alerts too. The warning messages on the board will disappear when the elephant moves away from its limit,” according to the Forest department sources.

Currently the camera has been installed at one location on an experimental basis. If it proves to be a success, the department is planning to set up such cameras in other forest areas too.

The Forest department initiated the programme after a child was killed in an attack by a wild elephant on the Athirappilly road recently. There have been many incidents of elephant attacks before and after the incident.