Animal repellent system installed at Anaikatti

In a joint initiative by Bannari Amman Institute of Technology (BIT) and Nilgiri Biosphere Nature Park (NBNP), an animal repellent system based on detection of ground vibrations in real time was installed recently on the NBNP premises at Anaikatti in Coimbatore district.

A release said the technology was developed by a team of researchers at BIT and about eight units were installed at NBNP in December 2020. The animal repellent system is equipped with a high-volume hooter to drive the animals away and is completely automated. The sensitivity level of the system can be adjusted to detect the ground vibrations generated by the footsteps of various animals ranging from cats to elephants, according to the release.

Real-time ground vibration detection technology had varied applications and possessed many advantages over other comparative technologies such as hidden underground sensors and higher resilience against climatic hazards, the release said. The researchers also adopted a noise cancellation technique which made the animal repellent system at NBNP capable of rejecting any extraneous noises like that of rain or vehicles. Further research was under way to improve the performance of this system, the release said.