The new electronic intervention called ‘Kisan Mitra Chhadi’ is intended to reduce the many lives lost to snake bites in rural India. This can be tough for farmers because they often work in low-light areas where vision is limited.
The device uses vibration technology to identify the presence of reptiles within a localised range of approximately 5 to 15 meters, with a broadcast alert capability reaching up to 100 meters and gives the farmer a signal through a loud vibration when he comes across one. This is part of an effort to provide safety-related technology in agriculture, including to help ensure that farmers who do tasks such as irrigating at night do not die from preventable causes.
Indian scientists develop a smart stick for farmers to catch snakes
The farmer’s friend stick, ‘Kisan Mitra Chhadi’, provides farmers with an early alert system. According to the official presentation from Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, all a farmer needs to do is place the stick on the ground, turn it on with a button, and wait for the stick to scan for activity around him/her (up to 100 meters away) and detect a snake by identifying infrared radiation variance or specific vibration frequencies.
If a snake is detected, the stick will vibrate, and the farmer can retreat to avoid the snake. This innovation aims to greatly reduce the thousands of deaths that occur each year from accidental encounters with snakes.
The role of AI in field safety reliability
According to the study “Smart IoT-based snake trapping device for automated snake capture and identification,” published by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the “Smart Stick” uses Passive Infrared (PIR) and ultrasonic sensors to detect ectothermic thermal signatures and spatial anomalies.
‘Smart Sticks’ also use AI in advanced versions to distinguish with high-level accuracy between the snake’s movement and the environment, providing valid alerts only when there is an actual threat.
By reducing the number of false alarms experienced while working in the field, a farmer is alerted accurately to an actual potential threat.
How Arduino and Raspberry Pi enable instant threat notifications
The ‘International Journal of Scientific Research and Engineering Development’ illustrates that these devices are built on Internet of Things (IoT) architecture, using microcontrollers such as Arduino or Raspberry Pi.
When the sensors recognise the low-frequency seismic vibrations of a serpentine gait or the acoustic profile of a snake’s hiss, a circuit closes to generate a response (e.g. buzzer) on site and simultaneously sends a notification to a mobile device.
This type of alert is essential for farmers operating at night.
How ‘Smart Sticks’ support biodiversity and rural safety
Government Funded Research Agencies, as per the report findings, show these devices serve two functions: safety and conservation. Such technology allows for the safe trapping or detecting of snakes without causing harm, which is an important consideration for collecting snake venom for antivenom synthesis and pharmacological research. Snakes help control rodent populations in farming. Using these sticks prevents the unnecessary killing of snakes while also protecting people.
