TO SAVE WILD ELEPHANTS FROM TRAIN ACCIDENTS

Technician invents warning system

Atechnician of Kottawa in Galle has invented a signal system to prevent wild elephants from being run over by trains. The new inventor Chaminda Jayasinghe has already received patents for six out of 52 new inventions.

He has named the new invention as a safety system to save wild elephants from train accidents. He said he used good conductor plates, a sensor, an Arduino circuit and an inverter circuit to turnout the safety system.

“Two good conductor plates should be placed in-between the rails and the sensor fitted to a rail and power supplied to them. A control box with Arduino circuit and the inverter circuit is installed by the side of the railway line and power supplied to it through a solar panel. Arduino circuit is connected to the plates and the inverter circuit to the sensor. The power supplied to the installation is similar to that in an electric fence. When a wild elephant steps on to the plates the sensor would issue a signal activating the inverter circuit that would supply power to the plates. Meanwhile a blue light would be burning, warning the driver of the presence of an elephant on the track. When the train passes the location, the installation would automatically switch off ” He said.

He further said the installation could be turned out at a cost of about Rs.50,000.