School students devise one-of-a-kind tech solution to curb road accidents by trucks
School students devise one-of-a-kind tech solution to curb road accidents by trucks
A team of school students from Shiv Nadar School, Gurugram, have come up with a plug-and-play device that can help reduce the number of road accidents caused by truck or cab drivers due to long hours of driving, fatigue and over-speeding.
HIGHLIGHTS
The device can help reduce the number of road accidents caused by truck or cab drivers due to long hours of driving, fatigue and over-speeding.
The affordable plug-and-play device detects whether the driver is drowsy, speeding or if he is using his mobile phone.
The overall cost of teh device is Rs 4000 but the wholesale price would be around half of that.
Encountering a road accident and witnessing it with your own eyes can leave quite an impact. When a young student at Shiv Nadar School, Gurugram, told the story of his family having witnessed an accident a few years back where a truck ran over a 13-year-old girl on a bicycle, it ended up moving the rest of the youngsters in his school project team.
A survey in February 2022 denoted overspeeding as the major cause of road accidents caused by trucks in India. The second-biggest cause at 38% was fatigue and sleepiness due to driving for long hours.
Now, ‘Team Hifazat’, a team of six students from Shiv Nadar School, Gurugram, has come up with a device that can help reduce the number of road accidents caused by truck or cab drivers due to long hours of driving, fatigue and over-speeding.
“After researching and collecting data on road accidents and fatality rates, we were determined to do our part and help make roads a safer medium of transport,” says Dia Sarin, one of the innovators behind this road accident prevention device.
The device can indicate whenever the vehicle is over-speeding, or the camera view is blocked, or if the driver getting drowsy or is talking on the phone. In these scenarios, the device will notify the truck driver and the contractor of the truck, allowing immediate action.
The one-of-a-kind device designed by school students is both affordable and effective in preventing truck-related road accidents.
The innovation is an outcome of the Capstone Project at Shiv Nadar School, where students are encouraged to ideate and devise economically viable and creative solutions to address real-world problems.
' Team Hifazat’ comprises Dia Sarin, Arjun Shelat, Lakshya Bajaj, Anaavi Sharma, Akshita Agrawal and Gauri Kapoor.
HOW THE DEVICE WORKS
“ Our device calibrates and calculates the average eye aspect ratio and mouth aspect ratio of the driver every time the device starts. It detects whether the driver is drowsy, speeding or if he is using his mobile phone,” explains Arjun Shelat from the team.
The device also detects if the camera’s view has been obstructed and can be remotely accessed. When the driver is focused on the road the device labels it as neutral, he says.
“However, if he is looking elsewhere or is talking on his phone, the device alerts the truck contractor,” he says.
The contractor is also notified if the driver starts getting drowsy, crosses the speed limit, or is not visible in the camera. Whenever the device notifies the contractor, it also takes photos of the driver and stores them.
