Elephants in Odisha's forests often face the threat of train collisions on railway tracks, as highlighted by multiple reports over the years. To prevent such accidents, authorities installed four AI cameras in the Rourkela Forest Division. A post on X (formerly Twitter) by Susanta Nanda, a retired Indian Forest Service officer, stated that the use of AI cameras effectively averted another potential accident. In the now-viral clip, the black-and-white AI camera provides a clear view of a herd of elephants moving in a specific direction.
Sharing the incident of safe railway operations, Nanda wrote, "AI camera captures and zooms into the elephants approaching the railway line, sending alerts to the control room for stopping the train. We had solutions. Happy to see that the ones implemented are now giving results. These 4 cameras along the track were part of mitigation measures."
Elaborating on scaling up this initiative, Nanda added, "Funded by RSP out of its site-specific wildlife conservation plan, it was implemented on a pilot basis in the Rourkela Forest Division. Keonjhar and Bonai Forest Divisions are underway to upscale this initiative. A win-win situation for all."
AI camera captures & zooms into the elephants approaching the railway line, sending alerts to the control room for stopping the train.
— Susanta Nanda (@susantananda3) December 8, 2024
We had solutions. Happy to see that the ones implemented are now giving results.These 4 cameras along the track was part of mitigation measures. pic.twitter.com/RBNe0hPOnl
The post garnered positive reactions in the comments section:
An X user wrote, "Feels so good to see, apt use of tech. Maybe in future, we can use this tech for locating poachers as well." To this, the retired forest officer replied, "Already in use in Simlipal Tiger Reserve."
Another user commented, "This is really great. Using tech for the welfare of animals is amazing." A third added, "Wonderful. We need this useful tech to be expanded to many more places."
"This is an excellent use of AI. This should be implemented across rail divisions," another suggested.
