Bengaluru traffic police launches AI-powered ASTraM; to provide congestion alerts

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Bengaluru traffic police has introduced ASTraM (Actionable Intelligence for Sustainable Traffic Management) to tackle congestion issues in the city. "ASTraM is a smart traffic engine offering comprehensive insights into the road traffic scenario in Bengaluru city," said Joint Commissioner of police (Bengaluru traffic) MN Anucheth.

"The primary objective is to provide situational awareness for making data-driven decisions to enhance traffic management. This includes congestion alerts, incident reporting via BOT (mobile application), special event management, dashboard analytics etc," said Anucheth.

Moneycontrol had reported on Bengaluru's plan to deploy advanced technology for traffic monitoring.

Also read: Tech capital Bengaluru to use AI for road traffic management

According to the police, the initiative aims to deliver real-time congestion alerts to jurisdictional traffic officials every 15 minutes. "These alerts are integrated with our e-attendance system, ensuring timely notifications to junction jockeys and sector officers. The idea is to update various stakeholders for improved traffic planning and management," said Anucheth.

Anucheth further explained, "This initiative aims to provide actionable intelligence on traffic conditions, road safety, and enforcement. The key purpose is to analyse traffic volume, congestion length, vehicle count, vehicle type, etc., enabling data-driven decisions for effective traffic management."

Bengaluru traffic police also plans to leverage data analytics for traffic congestion prediction. "This involves monitoring historic data and conducting comparative analysis with real-time traffic to enhance responsiveness to deviations from regular traffic volumes," he said.

Incident reporting is facilitated through BOT services. Anucheth said, "The purpose of this BOT service is to report field incidents from authorised sources. This information is then shared with map services, allowing BTP's Traffic Management Center (TMC) to monitor on-field traffic situations and coordinate with jurisdictional traffic officials and other stakeholders for resolution."

Special event management is another feature of ASTraM, maintaining a log of major city events to provide spatial insights into traffic situations. This facilitates better response management by allocating resources and planning alternative measures.

Ambulance tracking application

Bengaluru traffic police have also introduced an Ambulance Tracking Application to enhance coordinated movement for ambulances across the city. The control room monitors registered ambulance movements, triggering alerts if an ambulance is delayed for more than 120 seconds in traffic. The application communicates the shortest route and traffic conditions to the driver and includes an SOS button for immediate intervention.

Also read: Bengaluru traffic police facilitated 22 green corridors in 2023 for speedy organ transport

Drone camera for traffic monitoring

BTP employs ten drone cameras throughout the city to monitor traffic during peak morning and evening hours. 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.

Also read: Now, drones to monitor traffic in eight congested locations of Bengaluru