HP: Government college students in Hamirpur develop IoT device to protect crops from wild animals

NEW DELHI: A group of students from the Government Polytechnic College here have developed an Internet of Things (IoT)-based device that can help farmers protect their crops from wild animals and birds in Himachal Pradesh. Students of the Information Technology department, under the guidance of department head Pankaj Thakur and other faculty members, have developed the "Mass Surveillance Crop System".

The device acts as a sensor that emits a gunshot-like sound whenever an animal or bird approaches a field, scaring them away, Thakur said on Friday. Monkeys, wild boars and other wild animals often cause significant damage to crops in the hill state, and the device could prove effective in driving them away, he said, adding that the innovation could be a boon for farmers.

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Anjali and Sachin Chaudhary, students who worked on the project, said the device is low-cost, easy to install and automatically activates when movement is detected. Unlike CCTV cameras, it does not record continuously or store data, and functions only when an animal or bird comes near, they added.