“Curupira”: UEA creates device that identifies sounds of deforestation

Environmental Protection

The device has an intelligent monitoring system, which identifies chainsaw and tractor sounds in the forest

Manaus (AM) – A project called “Curupira”, in reference to the mythological guardian of the forest, was developed by a multidisciplinary team of researchers from the State University of Amazonas (UEA), through the Embedded Systems Laboratory (LSE/HUB). Still in the testing phase, the device has an intelligent monitoring system, which identifies sounds of chainsaws and tractors in the forest and can help combat deforestation.

The reach of “Curupira” devices is extended through a communication network, allowing them to share information with each other and send alerts to a central router, located up to 15 kilometers away. This router forwards the data for analysis in a computer program, enabling visualization and appropriate action in real time.

For the rector of UEA, André Zogahib, the creation of the device is another milestone of advancement for the university, which works on other projects aimed at environmental protection.

“This project is very important for our university, because it shows our ability to develop research, making our professors and students work in an integrated manner. Obviously, this puts us on a very different level,”

highlighted the rector of UEA.

The coordinator of the Embedded Systems Laboratory (LSE/HUB), professor Raimundo Claudio, highlighted the project’s initiative as promising for combating deforestation in Amazonas. According to him, other similar technologies exist in Europe, but they are not suitable for the reality of Brazilian territory.

“There are solutions similar to that of ‘Curupira’, but we created something that is really applicable to our reality. We have some challenges, the first of which is how you extract information from the forest at a low cost. We managed to overcome this, but the second challenge is to make the device low maintenance, so that there is no need to always go to the installed location”,

highlighted the laboratory coordinator.

The person responsible for developing the device, Thiago Almeida, pointed out that technology is an important ally in preserving nature. In order for the information captured in the forest to reach the laboratory in real time, a wireless communication technology that works via radio frequency called “LoRa” was used.

“It is a technology most used in the countryside, in the interior, where there is no good internet signal. From the moment our device receives this message and detects the attack on trees, it goes to a type of storage cloud and can be accessed from anywhere in the world”,

explains the coordinator of the ‘Curupira’ project.

*With information from consultancy

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