New app describes and generates the voices of various species of birds that flock to the lake every year. (Express photo)
By Prabal Sharma
TO ATTRACT more bird lovers and to make the understanding of migratory birds among budding bird lovers easy, the local administration has installed 3D images of different birds linking these with a mobile application, Digiwings, at the Nature Interpretation Centre (NIC) near Sukhna Lake.
Apart from providing complete information about the birds, including domestic and migratory birds, the app also enthralls visitors with the sound of a particular bird. One is required to download the app, give it access to the phone camera and the technology does the rest. Automatically recognising the location of the phone, the application transforms the still bird image on the walls of the interpretation centre into an augmented reality version of that bird which moves and speaks in its voice when one points the camera at it.
The move was welcomed by Chandigarh-based bird lovers, who described that the new technology would enhance knowledge about birds.
Bird watcher Kulbhushan Kanwar says, “I used to take schoolchildren for birdwatching at the lake and a trip to the interpretation centre was always a part of it. These new images and mobile app facility are a real boost to the understanding of migratory birds which visit the city every year. More people are bound to take interest as mobile phones are involved and hopefully they will learn a lot. As per the statistics, Sukhna Lake welcomes almost 2,500 migratory birds of different species every year.”
At present, 3D images of 20 migratory birds are on the walls of the NIC. These include European Robin, Bald Eagle, Barn Owl, Collared Aracari and the Macaw. There are around 20 pictures of these migratory birds on the walls. The application, along with showing moving figures of birds and their voices, also provides interesting facts about Sukhna Lake to the user.
NIC supervisor Ajay Kumar said, “It has been less than two weeks since these were installed. It is the initiative of Deputy Commissioner Ajit Balaji Joshi. We will also add digital images of more birds linking these with Digiwings. It has instantly become a hit, especially among children, as anything new related to technology fascinates them. The bird looks quite realistic in its movement on the phone screen.”