
When you think of agricultural pests, elephants may be at the bottom of the list.
But they do a great deal of harm to the nut and banana plantations precisely because they are too big, too difficult, too smart to scare them away once they start eating.
Now researchers in Australia have developed an artificial intelligence Scarecrow that can do the job.
It's so successful that they want to adapt it to other clever pests-the long-term goal is a scarecrow who understands the pest approach type and can customize its scare strategy.
Scarecrow technology has a long history of disgraceful failures, not just for elephants-if it becomes apparent that there is no threat, animals will soon learn to give up deterrence.
Many growers describe bird habitat, even on equipment designed to scare them away.
So researchers at CSIRO, Australia's National Research Institute, believe the answer is artificial intelligence.
Their artificial intelligence Scarecrow has little resemblance to what you think.
It has three elements: the processing brain that detects which pests are coming, identifies them and determines how best to respond, and the deterrent device, intelligent reactions can be made with the right combination of sound or light.
Even if the planting area is large, these areas can be widely distributed to cover any area that needs protection.
It is then loaded with a library of predator sounds, animal alarm calls and irritating tones, and its own sound
Senior researcher Ashley Tevez said the noise generated-anything we think is "terrible or amazing ".
"What constitutes a 'terror' sound is a region of species that continues to exist --
Rely on research.
However, previous work has shown that the roar of leopards and tigers will leave the elephant at the scene.
Elephants are also known for their fear of bees.
"Our goal is to use the adaptation mechanism of the system in an intellectual arms race," he said . ".
But in testing in Gabon, Africa, earlier this year, the strange device played a role.
"Elephants usually turn and run as quickly as they enter," Tews said . ".
The female elephant defeated a hastier retreat than the male elephant, and before leaving, it greeted the scarecrow with a rebellious attitude.
"We have a sensor that tries to hit us with a stick," he said . ".
This can not only help people, but also save elephants.
Vivek Thuppil of the University of Nottingham said that in India alone, 400 people and 100 elephants die from humans each year --
Elephant clashes are usually triggered by crop attacks.
Testing in Africa has been very successful and the group is now planning to expand it to other clever Australian agricultural pests, including wild boars, Wallabies, wild dogs, parrots and ducks.
In principle, AI should be able to find out for itself the most effective way for each particular pest by testing the animal's response.
Thuppil, who has worked in the field of elephant scare, believes that this method can work, said that as long as there are intimidation devices placed throughout the perimeter so that "Elephants can never be sure there is no threat there ".
He had previously found that even big cats did not work long hours.
"In several encounters, the elephant only sees sound as a threat to rest," Thuppil said . ".
"They just walked around it.
In the long run, however, Thuppil predicts that elephants will become smart about the system.
Still, he believes there is a lot of hope for the other pests on the CSIRO list.
Tews believes that these sensors can bring additional benefits to biodiversity monitoring, as the artificial intelligence Scarecrow can detect and record all animals passing through a given area.
The work was approved by the Animal Ethics Committee.