A bike safety enhancement system proposed by a three-member team from various institutes has emerged as the winner of the Road Safety Hackathon 2023 conducted by IIT-Madras’s Centre of Excellence for Road Safety (CoERS). The team has been rewarded with a cash prize of Rs 7.5 lakh, and their idea will also be incubated at IIT-Madras.
The winning safety enhancement system, developed by Chundru Satya Siva Rama Krishna Chowdary from Chalapathi Institute of Technology, Chundru Sai Krishna Chowdary from IIIT-Nuzvid, and Yarlagadda Hemanth from IIT-Bombay, aims to detect rash driving and generate an alert accordingly. Additionally, the system is designed to identify potential crashes if a vehicle falls, promptly sending an alert to the user’s phone.
The first runner-up prize, worth Rs 5 lakh, was awarded to a team from IIT-Roorkee. They developed a lane departure warning system that utilizes a LiDAR-based system to identify when a vehicle is not adhering to lane discipline on the roads.
Furthermore, the second runner-up prize, amounting to Rs 2.5 lakh, went to a team from Prince Shri Venkateshwara Engineering College for their innovative system designed to assist first responders. Their solution involves a connected radio-based system, which determines the location and direction of first responders, such as ambulances, using specific radio bands. This information is then relayed to a master system, subsequently adjusting traffic signals on the route to ensure that the first responders can reach their destination promptly.
The hackathon, supported by HL Mando Anand India Limited and the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, witnessed the participation of 47 teams. After multiple rounds, six teams qualified for the final round, which recently took place.
Expressing his views on the hackathon, IIT-Madras director V Kamakoti mentioned that it provided participants with valuable insights into practical problem-solving. He expressed his anticipation for further development in safety-related components integrated into vehicles, emphasizing that solving challenges particular to Indian traffic conditions can provide solutions applicable to a majority of the world.
R Sudhakar, additional commissioner (traffic) of the Greater Chennai Police, acknowledged the transformative impact of accidents on families and commended the changes and innovations triggered by such events. Sudhakar expressed hope in the rapid implementation of the prototypes developed during the hackathon, aiming to reduce the number of fatalities on the road effectively.
Headed by Venkatesh Balasubramanian, the Center of Excellence for Road Safety envisioned the hackathon as a platform to identify young talents, challenge them, and train them in developing life-saving products.
The hackathon’s success highlights the commitment and dedication of these young innovators in leveraging technology to address critical road safety issues. With traffic-related fatalities becoming increasingly significant concerns globally, the implementation of such solutions can make a substantial difference in saving lives and making roads safer for everyone.
