Smart Cities - Using AI for Smarter Roads

Road safety measures need to take into account the fact that humans will make mistakes, but this should not lead to loss of life

In June 2021, WRI India, together with Rohtak District Administration, Rohtak Police, Raahgiri Foundation and Nagarro launched the Safe rohTECH Challenge. This was modeled around India’s Smart Cities challenge, but with a focus on improving  road safety using communications and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Road Safety

Road traffic injuries (RTIs) are among the worst man-made disasters as every year more than 1.35 million people lose their lives globally.

World Health Organisation (WHO) lists RTIs as the 8th leading cause of death globally and the leading cause for children and young adults aged 5-29 years. The situation is much worse in our country. India has only about 1% of motor vehicles globally and it records more than 11% of global road traffic deaths. That translates into roughly 150,000 people - as per the National Crime Records Bureau, it is the leading cause of all accidental deaths in India.

The impact of road safety is multidimensional as it impacts poverty, gender balance, and the overall development of a nation. The issue is so big that the United Nations declared 2021-2030 as the 2nd Decade of Action for Road Safety. Earlier it was 2011-2020.

The situation is much worse in our country. India has only about 1% of motor vehicles globally and it records more than 11% of global road traffic deaths. That translates into roughly 150,000 people - as per the National Crime Records Bureau, it is the leading cause of all accidental deaths in India.

What do people expect from a transport system? Safety is the most important aspect. Followed by its convenience, affordability, equitable access, and comfort.

Road safety measures need to take into account the fact that humans will make mistakes, but this should not lead to loss of life. The design of road systems should be forgiving in nature.

Using Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

The rohTech competition was launched as part of the ‘Safer Mobility for Youth’ project that WRI India started with support from the Global Road Safety Partnership and Fondation Botnar in June 2020. One of the key components of the projects is to explore and amplify the use of technology for urban mobility and road safety.

rohTech aimed to leverage digital solutions to improve mobility and safety on roads. WRI India partnered with Nagarro as a technological mentor, to ensure that the solutions ideated by the participants are practical and readily testable.

The competition was divided into three stages – concept note stage, proof of concept stage, and testable solution stage. Of the 45 concept notes, 18 went into the 2nd stage, and finally 5 in the last stage.

Among the ideas were – a technology solution for measuring road surface quality, a mobile phone-based navigation app that shows high crash risk areas, a proximity-based emergency responses application, CCTV-based automatic crash detection, an automated emergency response system, an intelligent traffic light system, an integrated ride-hailing application, mobile phone-based driver alertness app.

‘UltraviZ’ solution of KasperTech finally won the challenge.

It is a CCTV-based automatic crash detection system that includes a crash intensity assessment feature. Ultraviz, utilises AI-based image processing on every frame of a CCTV feed for object identification, speed, movement path, proximity to other objects, etc.

Using machine learning algorithms and pre-defined parameters it assesses every frame to determine if objects (vehicles, humans, animals, etc) are on a path to collision or have already collided. In case of a collision, the algorithm assesses the crash intensity based on speed to prioritize alerts/notifications to authorities. KasperTech team is developing an add-on product for drones that can help in fast response and investigation. It determines a drone nearest to a crash site and charters a flight plan keeping in mind surrounding building heights, aviation norms, etc., and flies it to the crash site with first aid.

Looking at the novelty and potential impact of the solution, Rohtak Police has agreed to test the winning solution. WRI India is in conversation with Rohtak Police, Team KasperTech, and Nagarro to take this solution forward.

By Vaibhav Kush and Amit Bhatt

Amit Bhatt is Program Executive Director – Transport, WRI India

Vaibhav Kush is Senior Program Associate – Transport, WRI India

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