WII showcases radio collars, camera traps and drones

Mysuru: Visitors and wildlife enthusiasts who visited the wildlife exhibition at the KSOU campus were seen eagerly listening to the staff attached to the premier Wildlife Institute of India. The institute displayed a wide range of drones, radio receivers, camera traps and radio collars depicting the evolution of technology in tracking wildcats and other wild animals.
One of the most interesting technological marvels on display was the Trity F90+ Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), which has been helping in tracking conflict zones, mapping locations, and tracking animals.
It was in 2019 that the Panna Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh used the VTOL drone to conduct the tiger census and since then the technology tracking wildlife has seen new heights with institutes like WII and others are coming out with new technologies.
The WII’s Shashank Sawan said the hybrid VTOL (Virtual Take-Off and Landing) drone is a UAV that is capable of both vertical and forward flight. The UAV, known for its versatility, is used in wildlife monitoring, habitat mapping, keeping an eye on poachers and environmental issues. He said the UAV could measure the horizontal length of a crocodile from a distance of 8 feet.
There was also a wide range of radio collars on display that are placed on tigers, leopards and other wildcats for tracking purposes. The latest of the radio collars was the one that has feature that allows it to be dropped from the neck of the wild animal by setting the dates in the application. There are also a wide range of receivers that display technology’s evolution over the past decades.
The WII, which researches various topics, has been working on green LiDAR sensors that can measure the depth of water bodies including rivers, and seas. The WII staff said the institute was working towards making use of green LiDAR technology to track and map aquatic animals that live deep inside seas and oceans.