Every year, tens of thousands of people lose their lives in road mishaps across the country and studies have revealed that driver error accounts for a vast majority of them. According to official statistics, in 2021, at least 4,12,432 crashes have been recorded across the country resulting in 1,53,972 fatalities and 3,84,448 injuries. Driver error accounted for at least 80 per cent of crashes in motorized vehicles and despite ongoing efforts by stakeholders to mitigate accidents, the numbers persistently rise each year.
While safer roads have been designed, the importance of developing safer vehicles remains paramount. Advent of several active and passive safety features have greatly contributed to the reduction in fatalities and crashes but increase in traffic volumes and risky driving behaviour of drivers continue to pose a challenge in reducing the accidents.
In an attempt to develop solutions that could help reduce road fatalities, the Centre of Excellence for Road Safety, IIT Madras, has successfully concluded Road Safety Hackathon 2023 aimed at developing India-specific Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) solutions. The Hackathon was organised with support from HL Mando Anand India Limited and Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and has been devised for college students and young professionals to participate and contribute towards developing safer automobile products.
Commencing in early 2023 with 47 teams as initial participants, six teams qualified for the finals after multiple rounds of evaluation by academia and industry experts. In the grand finale held recently, participants from several colleges across India presented their solutions and provided live product demonstrations.
Various projects such as a smart helmet, a LiDAR-based Lane discipline system, sensor-based safety systems for hilly regions and, two-wheeler safety systems were developed and showcased during the finals at IIT Madras.
PRIZE-WINNING TEAMS
The first prize was awarded to Team Safety Guardians from Chalapathi Institute of Technology, IIIT Nuzvid, and IIT Bombay for Bike Safety Enhancement System. They presented a safety system for two-wheelers that utilised IMU to determine rash driving and generate an alert. The system is also designed to detect a potential crash if the vehicle falls and sends an alert using a phone.
Deaths on our roads are no longer viewed as merely a statistic and this has
R. Sudhakar, Additional Commissioner (Traffic), Greater Chennai Police
led to a lot of changes and innovations such as this hackathon. It is not just
the numbers that matter but what these developments can do to serve a family. I
hope the prototypes developed here can hit the roads soon so that there will be
fewer fatalities on the road.”
The first runner up prize was awarded to Team Safety Sentinels from IIT Roorkee for Real Time Lane Departure Warning System. They presented a LiDAR-based system that would identify when a vehicle is not following lane discipline on the roads. Their system is improved to identify lanes in situations where lane markings have faded or are absent.
The second runner up prize was awarded to Team Tons of Tech from Prince Shri Venkateshwara Engineering College for Assistance for First Responders. They demonstrated a connected radio-based system that would determine the location and direction of first responders such as ambulances using specific radio bands and relay them to a master system which would then adjust traffic signals suitably on the route. The system aims to enable for first responders to reach their destinations on time.
This Hackathon is the inaugural event in a series of initiatives by CoERS, aiming to foster an ecosystem in road safety by engaging students, young professionals, and forging government and industrial partnerships.
Through this Hackathon, CoERS aims to foster a co-creation ecosystem in road safety by engaging students and young professionals, to forge Government, academia and industrial partnership.
“Indian traffic conditions will give us a lot more challenges and insights and solving them will provide us with solutions for a majority of the world.”
Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras
Speaking at the occasion, Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, said, “With more and more electronic components being integrated into vehicles, we will see a lot more development in these components, specifically from a safety point of view. This hackathon is a great starting point. Indian traffic conditions will give us a lot more challenges and insights and solving them will provide us with solutions for a majority of the world.”
Addressing the gathering, Mr. R. Sudhakar, Additional Commissioner (Traffic), Greater Chennai Police, said, “Deaths on our roads are no longer viewed as merely a statistic and this has led to a lot of changes and innovations such as this hackathon. It is not just the numbers that matter but what these developments can do to serve a family. I hope the prototypes developed here can hit the roads soon so that there will be fewer fatalities on the road.”