Tethered drones scan elephant movement along railway lines near Coimbatore, fill blind spots of AI-based surveillance system

Tethered drones operated by the Tamil Nadu Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Corporation (TNUAVC) have added an extra layer of safety for elephants, preventing them from getting hit by moving trains in the Solakkarai reserve forest of Madukkarai range in Coimbatore district.

TNUAVC launched trial run of three tethered drones in Solakkarai RF from January 20, filling the blind spots of the existing AI-based early warning system of the Tamil Nadu Forest Department implemented two years ago.

The drones, connected to power source from the ground with cable for non-stop operation, fly at a height of 100 to 150 feet at two locations along ‘B’ line and one location on ‘A’ line — the twin single line connecting Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

The ‘B’ and ‘A’ lines together have 12 high mast towers of the AI-based early warning system introduced in February 2024.

“The three locations of the tethered drones will cover blind spots of the existing AI-based surveillance system. The drones are operated from a Forest Department watch tower and an abandoned building of a cement factory on the ‘B’ line and another watch tower on ‘A’ line”, said Vignesh Kumar, Senior Development Manager at TNUAVC, who heads the project at Madukkarai.

According to him, a tethered drone unit will have two pilots at a time. One pilot will operate the tethered drone equipped with camera having 30x200m zoom and scan for presence of elephants near railway track. Upon detecting an elephant or herd close to the track, the pilot will alert his counterpart, who will operate a surveillance drone fitted with flashlights and speaker to drive the elephant away from track. The speaker will emit sounds, including buzzing of honeybees that scare elephants.

“Elephants are chased towards safe areas when they are detected within the Orange Zone, that is 200 to 300 metres away from the track. Zero to 100 metres is marked as Red Zone. The alert on elephant presence is also sent to a modern control room that has been set up next to the AI-based system’s command centre. The control room in turn generates alerts to Forest Department staff and concerned officials,” Mr. Kumar said.

All the three tethered drones are currently operated with direct power supply. They are also equipped with generators for six-hour power back up in the event of a power failure. A total of 18 staff of the TNUAVC will work in different shifts for the tethered drones.

“The tethered drone system is also AI-powered, and its efficiency will improve through machine learning in the days to come. Established at a cost of ₹8.3 crore, TNUAVC will handle the operation of these drones for three years as per the agreement with the Forest Department,” added Mr. Kumar.