An early warning system that helps in preventing human-elephant conflict and crop damage has been installed at the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR) here.
A research team from Bannari Amman Institute of Technology, Sathyamangalam, had designed the “smart fence for early elephant warning”. It was recently installed at Ammapalayam village on the Bhavani Sagar – Mettupalayam Highway where elephants frequently cross the road.
The team headed by Sanjoy Deb, and comprising L. Rajasekar, R. Ramkumar and S. Selvakumar, designed the system that would send an SMS (short messaging service) to farmers and forest officials upon detecting elephants. The project was funded by the International Elephant Foundation (IEF) based in the U.S.
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The team members said the system was an upgraded and modified variant of the “Roadkill Prevention System” that was designed and deployed by them at Velamundi area on the Sathyamangalam - Mettupalayam Highway six months ago.
The new smart fence is composed of a detection module, warning module and a drive-away module. The detection module is a long distance laser fence indigenously designed by the team and can be operated up to 400 metres. The warning module sends the SMS alert.
The team members said the drive-away module had an automatic pattern changing flashlight that would turn on instantaneously when an elephant was detected, and would scare it away. They said a three-member team from the IEF inspected the system recently. After its success in the present location, it could be deployed in other conflict prone areas.
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