Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu): The Tamil Nadu Forest Department on Friday launched an Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning-enabled surveillance system to prevent elephant deaths due to train collisions. Inaugurating the AI surveillance system, Tamil Nadu Forest Minister M Mathiventhan provided financial assistance to the families of those killed by elephants and torchlights to first aid kits to the forest staff on night patrolling.
Addressing the event, the minister said, "For the first time in the country, an AI surveillance system has been launched in the Madukkarai forest of Coimbatore to prevent the death of elephants due to train collisions. The Coimbatore Forest has an area of about 693.48 square km. It shares forest boundaries with Kerala State and Erode and Nilgiri districts."
The human-elephant conflict has increased significantly in the Coimbatore district, mainly because of the increasing residential areas, land use patterns, agricultural practices and encroachment. Elephants are highly intelligent and adapt themselves as they observe various methods of controlling elephants leaving the forest.
As per a statement issued by the state government, 9,028 elephants have gone astray in the Coimbatore district in the past three years while a few were killed on railway tracks. Since 2008, 11 elephants have been killed by trains. Therefore, an Artificial Intelligence surveillance system has been installed to prevent the death of elephants.
Additional Chief Secretary Environment Climate Change and Forests Supriya Sahu said, "Today marks a milestone in our conservation journey for saving precious elephants as India's first project to prevent elephant deaths on railway tracks gets launched at Madukkarai by the Tamil Nadu Forest Department
"The AI and Machine Learning-enabled Surveillance project aims to prevent the death of elephants on railway tracks. Launched by the Forest Minister at Madukkarai in Coimbatore on Saturday the project is a culmination of hard work of more than two years. Under the leadership of Chief Minister MK Stalin, the project has taken wing. Twelve towers with thermal cameras have been set up with a Control Room to provide real-time monitoring and creating alerts," she added.
The government had sanctioned Rs 7.24 crore for the installation of the AI-enabled system. According to officials, the Artificial Intelligence-based surveillance system has 12 high towers fitted with both thermal and normal cameras, installed around the track in Bolampatti Block-I forest at a distance of 500 m from each other. Each tower has twin 360-degree rotatable thermal night vision cameras, which will provide clear visuals for a distance of 900 metres.
The sensed data is automatically transmitted to the Control Room, which processes them in real time. To monitor the movement of animals and to inform the loco pilots through calls, SMS and alerts, the front-line staff of the forestry department and the technical team shall be available in the Control Room on a shift basis.
In addition, hooters and digital display alerts have also been placed on the tracks for the loco pilots to see and act well in advance in the event of any animal presence along the two tracks.
The forest department and the railway officials work in synchronisation to prevent accidents based on AI-generated information. This system-generated data not only prevents accidents, but also gives valuable data on elephant movement, elephant behaviour, profiling of individual elephants and further morphological and behavioural studies for future decision-making.
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