WHY IN NEWS:
India’s first automated system for studying bat behavior.
-Created by Kadambari Deshpande and Vedant Barje, guided by Jagdish Krishnaswamy at IIHS, Bengaluru.
Key Features:
- Uses Raspberry Pi microprocessor and Audiomoth (a low-cost device to detect bat sounds).
- Automatically starts at sunset and listens to bat sounds all night.
- Makes graphs (spectrograms), records bat sounds, and tells which bats are most active.
Technology Used:
Smart program (algorithm) for understanding bat sounds.
- Solar-powered, works for up to 8 days without sunlight.
- Can be customized for different places.
Uses:
- Saves researchers a lot of time in studying bat calls.
- Helps learn more about bats in India’s different environments.
Challenges:
- Limited examples of bat sounds for training the system.
- Currently works for 6–7 common Indian bats.
- Needs more data to improve accuracy.
Importance:
- A big step forward for studying bats around the world.
- Useful for research in cities and nearby areas.