Edge AI in Sustainable Farming: Deep Learning-Driven IoT Framework to Safeguard Crops From Wildlife Threats

The relentless global population growth and the ever-increasing food demand pose formidable challenges to the agricultural sector. Farmers grapple with the ongoing challenge of wildlife-induced crop damage and human loss, which not only impedes food production but also exacerbates supply and demand imbalances. However, the rise of TinyML enables Edge AI as a promising avenue for implementing resource-efficient deep learning techniques on low-end edge devices. In this paper, we introduce an innovative solution that harnesses the power of Edge AI using tinyML-based deep learning algorithms in conjunction with the Internet of Things (IoT) for animal intrusion detection and deterrence system. The proposed system is developed to create remotely managed defense system tailored to safeguard vast agricultural expanses. It integrates a laser detection system and an AI-CAM with light weight deep learning algorithms for animal intrusion detection and classification. This system also ensures efficient animal deterrence and real-time monitoring for farmers, enabling them to assess the situation with the assistance of an intelligent rover build using IoT. This work emphasizes on proposing a light-weight deep learning model named EvoNet for animal classification. Results reveal that the proposed model achieves the highest accuracy at 96.7%, surpassing other models presented in this paper. However, for edge devices where compact file sizes are crucial, the model also offers comparable accuracy with file sizes as low as 1.63MB with the help of pruning and quantization techniques. This conceptualized solution has the potential to revolutionize agricultural wildlife management, ushering in a new era of crop protection and economic resilience.