Alarms, cameras in TSRTC buses to keep drivers alert

Hyderabad: Drivers in a few TSRTC buses plying on highways are now being alerted about sharp curves ahead, accident-prone areas and possibilities of collision. In fact, an alarm goes off every time they are about to doze off at the wheel. An alarm has been installed in a few buses on a pilot basis as […]

Hyderabad: Drivers in a few TSRTC buses plying on highways are now being alerted about sharp curves ahead, accident-prone areas and possibilities of collision. In fact, an alarm goes off every time they are about to doze off at the wheel.

An alarm has been installed in a few buses on a pilot basis as part of the iRASTE project. Emerging Technologies in association with IIIT-Hyderabad, Intel, INAI, TSRTC and UBER has taken up the project.

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Apart from a sensor, three cameras have also been installed at strategic locations in the driver’s cabin to monitor them, track the route pattern in advance and alert them in case of a possible collision.

Using the visuals captured by the cameras, the system uses Artificial Intelligence and ADAS solutions to trigger the alarm. Based on inputs from the cameras and other aspects, the central server shares the information with the drivers on a real-time basis.

In case of a sharp curve, a beep sound is generated to alert the driver. Similarly, based on the distance between the bus and the vehicle in the opposite direction, an alarm is raised. Depending on the movement of the drivers’ eyelids, another alarm goes off. “Currently, the alarm system is installed in 12 buses of the Secunderabad depot, plying on highways. It is definitely a good initiative,” a senior TSRTC official said.
The pilot project was launched a couple of months ago and efforts are on to install the system in 200 buses in the next two months. It hardly takes about three hours to instal the system, an official from the Emerging Technologies wing of the Telangana IT Department said.

Apart from benefiting the drivers, the system can help with identifying and analysing black spots and accident-prone areas. While, IIIT-Hyderabad is looking into the technical aspects, Intel is funding the project and Uber extending basic training to the drivers, the official said.