Anandita Mohanty: We’d like you to imagine this, you’re on your way to work

and you encounter your worst enemy- traffic. You have less than 10 minutes to
reach and you are stuck in a slow game of “Simon says”. You think in your
head, “I’m bound to be fired!”

Naman Mahapatra: Well, to ensure you don’t come across such a situation, we
have innovated a simple yet effective solution.
[change slide]
Anushka Baisakh: So, let's start off by understanding how traffic poses a
problem to us. Urban living has been significantly impacted by traffic
congestion as it not only causes extra delay and stress for the drivers, but also
increases fuel consumption, transportation costs and increase in carbon content
of the atmosphere. In modern cities, urbanization is prevalent and hence, so is
congestion. The duration of traffic lights makes it so that traffic keeps
accumulating and dispersing on one side with respect to the other.
[change slide (3)]
Om Swaroop Jena: In the conventional system,
Traffic lights are controlled by timers. It has a constant numerical value loaded
in the timer and the traffic lights automatically turn on and off based on the time
or value.

Anandita Mohanty: The drawback is that the traffic signal timers have a fixed
period to switch traffic between different directions. This leads to unnecessary
delays and the drivers have to wait for a longer span of time even if the traffic
density is less. Moreover, it leads to traffic congestions.
In cases of emergency vehicles like ambulances, traffic may as well degrade the
condition of the patients, or in worst cases, even take their lives!
In fact, it has been recorded that, in India approximately 4,000 patients die daily
due to delay in getting medical help, as ambulances are delayed due to traffic.[1]
[change slide (4)]
Adidev Panigrahi : At present the govt. has introduced a slightly improved
solution to this widespread problem by using Ultrasonic sensors and a controller
, which calculates the traffic densities and according to that controls the traffic
lights using AI. Ultrasonic sensors send a sound wave, which on hitting an
obstacle, echoes back to the source.
[change slide 5]
When a car remained on the road for an extended amount of time, the traffic
system’s sensor, which was positioned alongside the road at a specific distance
from the traffic intersection, would detect it and automatically extend the green
light’ s duration. This would allow the cars to pass until the sensors stop
detecting the sensor, which would indicate the cars have moved past the
distance at which it was positioned.
[change slide 6]
Aahana Parija: However, there is a major drawback to this idea. When one
lane’s traffic light remains green for a longer duration, it results in drivers of the
other lanes having to wait for a prolonged duration of time. This can cause
significant delays in their day-to-day lives. Additionally, anything blocking the
sensor could cause a malfunction in the traffic system. The exposure to
high-intensity ultrasonic waves can harm the body.
[change slide 7]
Aahana Parija: That being said, let’s now finally come to our innovative
solution!

Uday Waghela: In our solution, A camera is mounted at the back of the traffic
lights, such that, all cars in a 50m length are visible. With the help of our
algorithm, the camera can calculate the number of vehicles present in that
particular lane. This is done in each camera, for each of the lanes. The lane with
the highest traffic density, goes first, following the other lanes in a descending
order. Accordingly, the four-minute time period is divided into proportional
slots for each lane based on the algorithm’s result, to clear the traffic efficiently.
For example, if lane 1 has 1 car, lane 2 has 2 cars, lane 3 has 3 cars and lane 4
has 4 cars, our algorithm makes it so that lane 4 gets the most priority, the lane
3, then 2, then 1.
Naman Mahapatra: It resolves the various loopholes that existed in the
previous traffic models aforementioned it sets a limit to the delays of other
lanes.
[change slide 9]
Naman Mahapatra: Now, for the pricing. For the ultrasonic sensor system, the
cost of the entire set-up was Rs 40,000, per intersection. Our price per
intersection is 20,000 rupees, including maintainance, which is fifty percent
less!
To conclude, our innovation resolves a major problem in a comparatively cost
effective manner.