IIT Madras hosts first international AI road safety hackathon; Indian teams win top honours

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has initiated the first-ever international AI road safety hackathon, bringing together students, engineers, researchers and innovators from across seven countries to develop artificial intelligence-based solutions for roads. The initiative was hosted by the Centre of Excellence for Road Safety (CoERS), IIT Madras under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH).

Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand participated in the hackathon. The event aimed to address the nearly 2 lakh annual road fatalities reported across the BIMSTEC region through technology-driven interventions. It took place on July 16, under the theme ‘AI in Road Safety’ which also marks the AI Appreciation Day.

The program aims to foster a deeper partnership between governments, regional bodies and academic institutions in the Global South and encourage the application of AI for improved road safety outcomes.

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AI solutions for road safety challenges

Road safety remains a crucial problem, not just for India but for countries around the world. It is essential that we treat it as a shared responsibility, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said. Initiatives like the BIMSTEC AI Road Safety Hackathon clearly reflect India's efforts to enhance cooperation with the neighboring countries in the field of road safety, it added.

The MoRTH proposed that the shortlisted application platforms, as well as other commendable applications, be mentored by the CoERS for scaling up deployment and use.

The three problem statements which were addressed during the hackathon were: DriveLegal, that delivers information about location-specific information on traffic laws, violations, and fine schedules; RoadWatch, which allows citizens to report road infrastructure issues and track accountability for their resolution; and RoadSoS, where location-based access to trauma centres, ambulance services and emergency contacts are provided following a road accident.

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Collaborative innovation at IIT Madras

Addressing this, Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, stated, “The AI Road Safety Hackathon, bringing together young minds from across the seven BIMSTEC nations, represents the kind of collaborative spirit IIT Madras stands for. We are happy to provide a platform where students and researchers can apply their skills in artificial intelligence and technology toward saving lives on our roads. We look forward to continuing this partnership with our neighbouring nations in the years ahead."

Indian teams Cipher, Civics Forge and Tejas shared the top three positions in the hackathon, sharing a total prize pool of Rs 1 lakh, along with opportunities to further collaborate with CoERS, IIT Madras. The innovations by two teams, namely, Team Road Legal (Thailand) and Qreators (Nepal) were awarded special appreciation.