Tamil Nadu Forest Department launched AI-based system to avert elephant deaths near railway tracks. The system, a first of its kind in the country, reportedly integrates artificial intelligence to address the longstanding issue of elephant fatalities along railway tracks in the Coimbatore division. Traditionally, preventive measures to curb the mishaps involved manual surveillance by watchers, guards, and foresters, operating round the clock.
Tamil Nadu Forest Minister Dr Mathiventhan said, "We are very happy & delighted to introduce a new system. The first time of its kind in the entire country. This is a system where you have this artificial intelligence incorporated. This technology is like, you have two railway tracks in the Coimbatore division. We have the Vaigai River, and we have the elephants crossing these railway tracks... The main thing which the elephants faced was when they crossed these railway tracks, they got hit by the trains which used to run by the tracks."
"So it's been a long time since we used to apply many kinds of ideologies and plans to prevent this elephant from being hit by the train," he said.
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Explaining the difficulty in the traditional method, the Minister said, "We had many watchers and guards and foresters who were deployed for this, to save the elephants. And it was a 24/7 procedure which they used to do for the past many years."
However, recognizing the limitations of existing methods, the implementation of AI technology is anticipated to enhance efficiency in elephant protection while ensuring the safety of train passengers, he said.