EleTect 1.5: Safe Passage for Humans and Elephants

Elephants are a keystone species in their ecosystem. Their presence or absence significantly impacts the structure of their environment.

They graze and knock down trees, reducing forest canopy and creating habitats for small plants and animals to survive in the ecosystem. They dig up riverbeds and water holes, which help other species survive during long periods of drought. If elephants went extinct, other plant and animal species would die off, and ecosystems would be a lot less diverse.

Elephants were the engineers of the planet, shaping the lay of the land before the rapid expansion of cities, farms, and infrastructure. Today, conflict with humans is the second-greatest threat to the existence of these creatures. Deforestation and urban expansion bring elephants into frequent contact with people, and these encounters seldom end well.

In 2023, at least 488 elephants died in Sri Lanka during human-elephant conflict incidents. Elephants have a long gestation period, and a healthy population only grows by about 5% per year. Populations can therefore take decades to recover from losses due to poaching and conflict.

The human death toll is also high, especially along elephant corridors, i.e., the migration routes they pass in search of water, forage, and mates. Urban expansion has increased the number of elephant corridors that intersect with roads, villages, and farmlands. In February 2025, a 77-year-old German tourist was killed by a wild elephant on a ghat road in the Anaimalai Tiger Reserve, Tamil Nadu, India. While other motorists stopped a good way off, the tourist approached the animal and didn’t apprehend the danger until it was too late.

EleTect is an award-winning smart elephant detection system by Abhinav Krishna and Amritha M., that mitigates conflict using a network of connected sensor nodes and elephants’ worst sound, buzzing bees. Abhinav and his colleague created a new version of their project, Eletect 1.5, to protect elephants and people on routes that intersect with elephant corridors and crossings.

EleTect 1.5’s interactive digital signage system displays real-time, automated alerts that warn motorists whenever elephants are moving up ahead on the road. The system detects the elephants, alerts any nearby motorists, and deters the elephants with a buzzing bee sound.

The solar-powered system has two nodes, a detection unit and a warning unit. The detection unit (EleTect node) identifies the elephant’s vocalizations and appearance, and triggers the deterrent sound (when vehicles are nearby). The signage node is placed 500m before elephant crossings. It detects vehicles via an onboard camera, displays a flashing warning to motorists, and tells the other node that vehicles are present.

The signage node integrates a Seeed Studio XIAO ESP32-S3 microcontroller, a Grove LoRa-E5 module, a Raspberry Pi Camera, a solar charging modules, a battery pack, and an LED panel. The enclosure was made from an acrylic sheet for durability and weather resistance.

Abhinav says the inspiration for the revised project came from frequent human – elephant conflicts in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, particularly the tragic incident that led to the German tourist’s death. The major challenge was making the system rugged, autonomous, and affordable for real-world use. He says achieving a balance between reliability and low cost was not an easy task.

He notes that the project is almost ready for deployment. The detection node, communication system, and warning node have been validated in semi-field trials. The plan is to create a centralized monitoring platform that displays elephant sightings and conflicts across multiple locations on Google Maps.

EleTect 2.0, the project’s next upgrade, is a work in progress, according to Abhinav. It is a more rugged and field-ready version designed for long-term deployment in elephant corridors. Manufacturing is underway, and there are plans for pilot installations in collaboration with forest and wildlife departments.

Elephant corridors are essential to their survival and peaceful coexistence with us. Road warning signs will go a long way in mitigating collisions and wildlife conflicts. Projects like IFAW’s Room to Roam are also creating safe passages for elephants to move between home ranges.

The technical details of the EleTect 1.5 system can be found on the project page.