IIT-Hyderabad to collect traffic information
As many as 14 professors and 20 research scholars from IIT-H will be working alongside 34 Japanese.
Hyderabad: The Indian Institute of Technology — Hyderabad (IIT-H) has launched the ‘M2Smart Testbed’ — a system to collect and process traffic data through sensing technologies to help develop low carbon models for Indian transport.
The field Testbed that has been installed at the IIT-H campus and along a 30 km stretch of NH-65 will generate a practical ‘handbook’ on low-carbon urban transportation based on big data of Indian transportation and then create traffic flow models from the data analysis.
The key components of traffic management system are — real-time traffic flow monitoring using cameras and Bluetooth and Wi-Fi sensors, speed detection safety system, conflict warning system using traffic signal lights and the remote environment gas sensing installed at the campus as well as NH 65.
IIT-H director Prof. U.B. Desai said, “India has diverse modes of transportation, and we need to understand this diversity in mobility better than we already do. The data acquired using the Testbed will enable us to gain a better understanding of multi-modal transportation in India and consequently, help us provide solutions to reduce the carbon footprint.”
According to researchers, key outcomes of this study includes the development of state-of-art heterogeneous vehicle-sensing technologies for all types of vehicles, including rickshaws and motorcycles, plying on Indian roads using various kinds of sensors, and also the development of multimodal apps on smartphones, which will provide several choice sets including not only main transportation modes but also feeder transportation systems such as auto-rickshaws, taxis, and general buses with their service level parameters including travel time, fare, and eco-friendly quotient among others.
“The Testbed will also work on the development of the intersection decision support system using sensors, communication, and computer technologies to help drivers recognise risky conditions so as to avoid collisions,” Prof Desai added.
Elaborating on the research that will be conducted at this Testbed, Dr Bheemarjuna Reddy Tamma, Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, IIT-H, said, “As a part of the project, we are developing carbon dioxide emission estimation methodologies to estimate energy and carbon dioxide emission reduction by route choice and mode choice provided using IoT based traffic management system i.e. VMS (Variable Message Sign) displays and multimodal applications for smartphones.”
M2Smart (Smart Cities for Emerging Countries based on Sensing, Network and Big Data Analysis of Multimodal Regional Transport System) is a joint project under the Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development Program between India and Japan, the release added.