Aiming to decongest, the Bengaluru Traffic Police Department today launched its new Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered ASTraM app (Actionable Intelligence for Sustainable Traffic Management app) that will provide holistic insight into the traffic situation on the city’s roads. The app was launched as part of Road Safety Awareness Week.
Traffic monitoring to alleviate congestion
According to the police, the program will send real-time traffic jam notifications to the jurisdictional traffic authorities every 15 minutes. This is integrated with the traffic department’s e- attendance system so that alerts are sent to the junction jockeys and sector officers. This alert also provides updates on congestion to various stakeholders for better traffic planning and management.
Objectives
The key objective of ASTraM or Actionable Intelligence for Sustainable Traffic Management app is to provide situational awareness to Bangalore Traffic Police to take data driven decisions for effective traffic management. This includes congestion alerts, incident reporting via BOT (mobile application), special event management, dashboard analytics, and so on.
“ASTraM is a smart traffic engine offering comprehensive insights into the road traffic scenario in Bengaluru city,” stated MN Anucheth, Joint Commissioner of Bengaluru Police (Traffic department).
Dashboard Analytics
This feature provides actionable intelligence on traffic conditions, road safety and enforcement. Bengaluru Traffic Police wants to tabulate traffic volume and volume in terms of length of traffic jam, number of vehicles, type of vehicles, data driven decision making for effective traffic management. BTP also aims to predict traffic jams using analytics. It keeps track of historical data, enabling a comparative analysis with real-time traffic, according to the traffic department.
Incident reporting by BOT
Bengaluru Traffic Police intends to use data analytics to predict traffic bottlenecks.
The purpose of this BOT service is to report any field incident from authorized sources so that corresponding information is shared with the map services.
The BOT service helps facilitate incident reporting. This data is then shared with map services, enabling BTP’s Traffic Management Center (TMC) to monitor traffic issues in the field and work with local traffic authorities and other stakeholders to resolve them.
Event management
ASTraM also has special event management feature, which keeps track of significant municipal events and provides geographic insight into traffic issues. It allows for better response management by allocating resources and developing alternative approaches.
According to traffic officials, such events are continuously monitored centrally from TMC, ensuring that required information is disseminated for quick action.
Ambulance Tracking
Bengaluru traffic police have also introduced an ambulance tracking application to enhance coordinated movement for ambulances across the city. Through the application, the control room would be monitoring the movement of the registered ambulance from the source to the destination. The app would communicate the shortest route and traffic conditions to the driver and include an SOS button for immediate intervention.
Use of Drone Camera
BTP would employ ten drone cameras throughout the city to monitor traffic during peak hours of morning and evening. Live drone feeds are displayed on TMC’s video wall, enabling real-time monitoring of congestion and potential bottlenecks along high-density corridors. This information is relayed to jurisdictional traffic officials for necessary actions, according to traffic police.
