IIT Madras partners with Odisha govt to implement data-driven road safety measures

NEW DELHI: The Indian Institute of Technology Madras’ (IIT Madras) RBG Labs has signed an agreement with the Government of Odisha to adopt a data-driven and empathy-based approach to improve road safety in the state. The collaboration aims at reducing road accidents through evidence-driven interventions.

The initiative is based on RBG Labs’ ‘5E model and Transportation Safety Framework’ (TSF), the central focus of which will be human factors (empathy) to drive impactful road safety measures across the state, the press release by the institute read.

The agreement between RBG Labs and the Odisha government’s commerce and transport department was signed on December 23 in Bhubaneswar.

IIT Madras, Odisha govt pact on road safety

Speaking about the partnership, commerce, transport, steel and mines minister Bhibhuti Bhusan Jena said: “This partnership with IIT Madras is a key step towards our vision of Viksit Odisha where safety and innovation co-exist for the benefit of every citizen. These initiatives will focus on leveraging real-time data and modern technology along with engaging communication tools to create long-term solutions....”

V Kamakoti, director, IIT Madras, said: “Disaster Management is something very high in the agenda for our country. Road safety is an urgent and critical challenge that directly impacts the well-being of our citizens and the socio-economic development of the country. At IIT Madras, we have been relentlessly working on innovative, technology-driven solutions to address the complexities of road safety.”

“From identifying accident hotspots and developing advanced crash investigation tools to designing efficient emergency response systems, our efforts have consistently aimed at saving lives and preventing injuries. Successful implementation of these schemes have happened in many states, including the State of Tamil Nadu, Haryana and Rajasthan,” Kamakoti added.

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The RBG Labs, as part of the IEC (Information, Education, Communication) campaign, will be working on capacity building for investigating officers of the Odisha Police in scientific crash investigation using the ‘Root Cause Analysis Matrix’ (RCAM) method, the institute said.

The programme seeks to impart design thinking skills to the investigation officer (IO) to adopt a human factor or empathy-based approach in identifying the root causes of an accident, the institute added.

Venkatesh Balasubramanian, head, RBG Labs and CoERS, department of engineering design, IIT Madras, who is coordinating this initiative, said: “RBG Labs is eager to collaborate with the stakeholders in Odisha in their journey to safe roads. We are deeply committed to leveraging our expertise in design thinking and human factors to provide a scientific framework for solving problem.”

The institute said that the RBG Labs has conducted a holistic human factors-based road safety audit in collaboration with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) where over 1000 km of national highway stretch was audited.