Stories
Teen Developer Builds $300 AI System to Fight Elephant Poaching
- •Seventeen-year-old Indian-American student Anika Puri developed an affordable $300 AI tool named ElSa to help wildlife rangers detect potential elephant poachers.
- •The system analyzes thermal drone footage using machine learning to track movement patterns, achieving an impressive 90.9% accuracy rate during tests.
- •ElSa was created after Puri witnessed the illegal ivory trade in Mumbai markets during her visits to India and wanted to use engineering for wildlife conservation.
- •The AI tool successfully distinguishes humans from animals by examining factors like speed, turning radius, and herd movement, reducing manual video review time.
- •Puri's innovative conservation project earned her a prestigious $25,000 Davidson Fellows Scholarship in 2022.
Key Questions Answered
ElSa is a $300 artificial intelligence tool developed by 17-year-old Anika Puri that analyzes thermal drone footage to distinguish humans from animals. By identifying movement patterns such as speed and turning radius, the system helps rangers detect suspicious activity and narrow down footage requiring closer inspection.
The AI system achieved an accuracy rate of 90.9% in detecting humans during tests that utilized the BIRDSAI dataset containing thermal footage from four African national parks.
Anika Puri's interest in wildlife conservation grew during visits to India, where she noticed ivory jewelry and statues in Mumbai markets. This exposure prompted her to learn about the illegal ivory trade, leading her to use her background in robotics and drone technology to build a supportive tool for conservationists.
