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NEW DELHI: Scientists at Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham in Kerala have developed a ‘forest fire early detection system’, using UAV and advanced computation technology to detect fires at an early stage and quickly alert officials.
The system, funded by Kerala government’s forest & wildlife department, is successfully tested in Chambra Peak in Wayanad. Unlike the satellite-based forest fire alerts system which is currently being used in the country, the system developed by Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham can detect fires at an early stage and provide live streaming of the location to forest officials to avoid a false alarm.
On the other hand, the existing detection system, using satellite imagery, takes landscape photos of the affected region and relays them to the forest officials after a gap of two days, making it difficult to stop the spread of the forest fires immediately.