Chhattisgarh: USA-Based Tech Journal, MIT Technology Review, Features C’garh AI Elephant Alert project
The article titled “Elephant alert! AI warning systems aim to avoid clashes”, appeared in the June edition of the renowned journal, which highlights tech innovations happening across the world: Reports
RAIPUR: The tech-based elephant alert project, conceived by the Chhattisgarh forest department to prevent the human-wildlife conflict in the forested areas in the state has been featured in the reputed science journal of USA, MIT Technology Review.
The high-tech project involving infrared drones and Artificial Intelligence (AI)- powered mobile application helps share real time information on the movement of elephants during the night to local the foresters and forest dwellers to prevent the human-elephant conflict, Varun Kumar Jain, deputy director of the Udanti-Sitanadi Tiger Reserve (USTR) in Chhattisgarh, told this newspaper on Friday.
The article titled “Elephant alert! AI warning systems aim to avoid clashes”, appeared in the June edition of the renowned journal, which highlights tech innovations happening across the world.
Usually, in places where elephants tend to wander, warnings from the ground-based patrols can sometimes take hours to reach human habitations, located in the buffer zones and fringe areas of the forests, often causing loss of human lives and properties.
Under the elephant alert project, thermal drones equipped with infrared sensors are deployed to detect elephant movement during night in dense forest areas where conventional ground patrolling is difficult, according to the forest officer.
Upon detection, trained drone operators relay the information through the ‘’AI Elephant App’, which instantly sends alerts via text messages, phone calls, and WhatsApp to forest staff and residents within a five-ten kms radius, enabling timely precautions and reducing the risk of human-elephant conflict.
The innovative project places Chhattisgarh among the leading regions demonstrating how emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, drones, and digital communication can be effectively integrated into wildlife conservation and public safety, the forest officer said.
Chhattisgarh chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai hailed the global limelight received by the project, saying, “The international recognition reinforces our commitment to leveraging advanced technologies for wildlife conservation and human safety. Chhattisgarh will continue to pioneer community-centric solutions for coexistence between people and wildlife”.
