Haldwani, Sept. 10 -- The state's first Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based Forest Acoustic Surveillance System to detect illegal logging, poaching and other suspicious activities in forests in real time has been installed in Haldwani forest division, officials said. Haldwani DFO Kundan Kumar said the indigenous system combines artificial intelligence, edge computing, acoustic sensors and LoRa-based long-range wireless communication to continuously analyse sounds within forests. "The technology has been designed keeping local forest conditions in mind and can operate in remote areas where conventional mobile networks are unavailable," an official said. It is powered by solar energy and rechargeable batteries. The system functions as a "digital ear" in the forest. Acoustic sensors continuously capture and analyse sounds, while AI technology identifies events that may have security or ecological significance. According to forest officials, the system has been trained to recognise sounds associated with chainsaw operations, axe chopping, gunshots, vehicle movement, human intrusion and wildlife vocalisations, among other activities....