The Sweden-India Transport Innovation and Safety Collaboration (SITIS), one of the largest collaborations in the road safety arena involving 15 Swedish and Indian companies and institutes, on Thursday began real- time operations of collecting Indian traffic and road eco-system data, said a top official.
“It is a big day for SITIS as it is taking off very well. After a 8-month pilot run of the SITIS Connected Safety-Bus platform, it will now be adapted into real time operations so as to take measures to bring down the road accident death rate from 150,000 per annum in India,” Kamal Bali, Chairman, SITIS Board, and President Volvo Group India told IANS.
He said the real-time data about Indian traffic and road eco-system will be collected in partnership with the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC).
“One KSRTC bus with several sensors will run in Karnataka to gather huge data. The data can be extrapolated for the nation and suggest measures like changes in road, vehicle design, driver training and others,” Bali said.
The bus in operation is equipped with various cameras, sensors, logging equipment which will capture the entire eco-system outside the bus as well as the in-vehicle environment.
This data will be processed in real-time as well as offline to analyze and build insights in order to characterize the Indian traffic conditions as well as driver behaviour.
In phase 2 of this project, the bus will be further equipped with radar systems and equipment that monitors weather, air quality and various other parameters, which will be installed in multiple vehicles.
According to Bali, SITIS is a long term project and robust and relevant data is going to be a key factor behind future safety initiatives that would be used to reduce fatalities on Indian roads.
“At SITIS, we aim to become a prominent centre for applied research that stakeholders can rely upon, while taking actions to improve road safety. Behind this trust will lie robust data and evidence-based work. The trust we place in data shall have multiplier effect on the speed with which we finally turn research into real-life solutions guiding us to focus our precious resources to areas that have high potential in saving lives. The SITIS Connected Safety-Bus platform is a commitment by 15 partners from
India and Sweden in that very direction,” Bali said.
The SITIS partners are: Autoliv, Ericsson, Manipal Hospitals, Altair, Saab, Tech Mahindra and the Volvo Group, as well as universities and research institutes; India Institute of Science (IISc), Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (IIT Delhi), Chalmers University of Technology, RISE Research Institutes of Sweden; and the technical authorities ARAI, and the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI).
The platform engages also with the Vision Zero Academy at the Swedish Transport Administration, the Indian Ministry of Road Transport & Highways and Niti Aayog.
This initiative will also link data, learnings and insights with research activities targeted at various user groups, including drivers, fleet managers, fleet operators and other stakeholders.
–IANS
