Towers with AI-enabled cameras installed in Rourkela to protect elephants

The Rourkela forest division has, for the first time, installed four Artificial Intelligence (AI)-enabled cameras on towers to conduct round-the-clock wildlife monitoring, with a special focus on safeguarding elephants, a forest official said on Monday.

According to official sources, these cameras, capable of rotating 360 degrees, are aimed to enhance surveillance in the region.

Also Read: AI technology helps save elephant herd from train accident in Rourkela

Rourkela has witnessed a troubling number of elephant deaths in recent years, primarily due to collisions with trains. In an effort to combat this issue, the State government has introduced these AI towers as a means of fortifying wildlife monitoring efforts.

A 24-hour control room has been set up at the Rourkela forest division office to support this initiative, which also monitors other wildlife species.

When contacted, Rourkela DFO Jashabanta Sethi said, “We have installed four AI-enabled cameras, which are of high resolution and are capable of rotating 360 degrees.”

“Rourkela division office has a control room which operates 24x7. Based on the distance of a detected elephant, we get ‘red’, ‘yellow’, or ‘green’ alerts accordingly. Each camera can cover a distance of up to five kilometers,” the DFO expressed.

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Worth mentioning, an elephant herd narrowly escaped an impending train collision in the Rourkela forest division of Sundargarh, due to the involvement of the AI technology.

The herd, consisting of two adult elephants and a calf, was detected by the strategically placed AI cameras as they ventured across a railway track.

Upon detection, the AI cameras instantly sent an alert to the Forest Department control room, enabling operators to halt the approaching train in time to avert a mishap.