Jharkhand Man, 18, Develops AI Device To Reduce Human-Elephant Conflicts

An 18-year-old Jharkhand man has developed a low-cost AI-based device to mitigate human-elephant conflicts, particularly in rural areas, for the state forest department, an official said on Friday.The device is currently being tested at Palamau Tiger Reserve (PTR), and it is being planned to use it as a pilot project in Ranchi district in August, he said.Avi Mohan Kumar Shuklaa, who recently passed the Class-12 board examination from a Ranchi-based school, said he has been working on the project for the past three months."The device, 'Innobox', is a solar-powered AI wildlife deterrent device using seismic sensors, radar, and an AI camera to detect and deter elephants and other animals from farmland, with over 80-85 per cent species detection accuracy," Avi told PTI.Human-elephant conflicts have been a major concern for the Jharkhand forest department for decades, and it has been working on several layers to mitigate the problem.Man-elephant conflicts in Jharkhand…