Chinmaya Kaundanya and Luna Systems improve two-wheel rider safety in India

A researcher at Insight SFI Research Centre for Data Analytics at DCU, Chinmaya Kaundanya, has been leading an academia-industry collaboration for upgrading the safety of two-wheeler riders in India. He collaborated on this heavily innovative project with both Luna Systems and third-year undergraduate students from Marathwada Mitra Mandal’s College of Engineering (MMCOE), affiliated with Pune University in India.

PhD student Chinmaya Kaundanya set out with the intention to heavily involve these undergraduate computer science students in the research process, which worked out very successfully. During the research process, the students were assigned to install cameras on their scooters and bikes in order to capture videos. The recorded footage from these trips was meant to train AI models and evaluate different algorithms for ARAS applications, including headway monitoring, blind spot detection, and critical collision warning.

Due to the rate of accidents and severe injuries outlined in India’s latest road safety report, it was discovered that 44.5% of all road deaths were related to two-wheeler accidents on top of an 8% increase each year.

Chinmaya’s role consisted of many aspects, including setting up the partnership, selecting the appropriate equipment and mounting the cameras successfully at the correct angles and positions, conducting workshops on camera geometry models, and actually riding the two-wheelers as a method of collecting data.

According to Chinmaya:

“Our approach utilises a camera-based ARAS system to detect when a two-wheeler is in a heightened risk state or suboptimal road position. Our philosophy centres around nudging the rider toward safer positions, akin to having a riding instructor providing constant guidance. This method aims to significantly reduce the bike’s exposure time in risky scenarios and heighten rider awareness about positioning.”

This project reflects the impressive collaborations that can be done between academia and industry, as this project is a big move in the right direction towards fixing real-life problems in India. From impressive knowledge and innovative skills, this project is going to be of huge benefit to Indian road safety.

See Chinmaya’s full explanation here: https://www.insight-centre.org/insight-sustainability-chinmaya-kaundanya-on-improving-safety-for-two-wheel-riders-in-india/