Autonomous Drone Solution for Human-Wildlife Conflict Management

Human-wildlife conflicts pose significant challenges to both conservation efforts and community well-being. As these conflicts escalate globally, innovative technologies become imperative for effective and humane management strategies. This paper presents an integrated autonomous drone solution designed to mitigate human-wildlife conflicts by leveraging technologies in drone surveillance and artificial intelligence. The proposed system consists of stationary IR cameras that are setup within the conflict prone areas, which utilizes machine learning to identify the presence of wild animals and to send the corresponding location to a drone docking station. An autonomous drone equipped with high resolution IR cameras and sensors is deployed from the docking station to the provided location. The drone camera utilizes object detection technology to scan the specified zone to detect the animal and emit animal repelling ultrasonic sound from a device integrated to the drone to achieve non-invasive deterrence. The paper provides approaches to develop algorithms, optimize object detection strategies, and adapt the system to the evolving dynamics of wildlife behavior. This integrated autonomous drone solution presents a promising avenue for addressing human-wildlife conflicts, promoting coexistence, and contributing to the broader field of wildlife conservation and technology-driven ecological management.