Telangana AI Mission launches Forest AI Grand Challenge
The Telangana AI Mission has launched the Forest AI Grand Challenge to foster innovation and help the Telangana Forest Department. T-AIM is an initiative by the Telangana government in partnership with Capgemini and is powered by NASSCOM.
As part of the challenge, the forest department aims to gather detailed, large-scale knowledge about animals’ estimated number, location, and range-specific (movement) behaviour in the forest region. These solutions are expected to help forest officials with wildlife conservation efforts using artificial intelligence. The challenge is open to all innovators in the country and is now open for applications.
About T-AIM
Telangana AI Mission was established by the Telangana government with a vision to position Telangana state as a global hub for artificial intelligence and to foster social innovation. Powered by NASSCOM, one focus area for T-AIM are the environment and forests.
Currently, the Telangana Forest Department monitors wildlife and human movement in the forests through movement-based camera traps. However, extracting information from these pictures remains an expensive, time-consuming, manual task.
About the challenge
The Forest AI Challenge innovators will be selected on the bases of their approach notes, and the shortlisted innovators will be given six weeks to present a ‘Proof of Concept’. The submissions will be judged on their approach, the technique and the outcome. The winning innovator will be receiving mentoring support and a cash prize of up to ?20 lakhs to implement the potential pilot project with the Telangana Forest Department.
Praveen Mokkapati, Deputy Director, NASSCOM, said, “Analysing a significant volume of forest data and generating meaningful insights is time-consuming and labour-intensive for humans. For instance, using AI, behavioural patterns of wildlife can start to get mapped such that officials can estimate the location of a certain animal much more effectively. Then there are anthropogenic disturbances or human-animal conflicts that could be mitigated with AI. Highly-prone regions can be identified, and patrolling can be enhanced to prevent illegal activities by people or their unintentional incursions into restricted zones. Through the Forest AI Grand Challenge, we hope to realise the power of AI for wildlife conservation”.
