KOCHI: Emergency services such as ambulances and fire engines getting stuck in traffic are not a rare sight, often resulting in the death of the injured or failure to get those needing immediate medical services to hospitals on time. A delay of a few minutes is what separates life and death.
A group of MTech students from the Rajagiri School of Engineering and Technology, Kakkanad, has developed a technology to find a solution to this pressing problem. The new technology ‘Emergency Response System for India’ (ERS) works by connecting traffic signals with the internet wherein the signal lights turn green when an emergency vehicle arrives and the system reverts back to normal after the vehicle goes through.
The prototype of the technology developed by Mohamed Jasim M, Muhammed Sadique U K and Rejin R Krishna won the second prize and Rs 40,000 cash award that the recently concluded TiE Kerala event.
“We are meeting the Minister for Industries and Information Technology P K Kunhalikutty on Wednesday seeking government support for the technology, which can be implemented at a very low cost,” said Muhammed Sadique U K. He said in Bangaluru, a US company is trying to implement a similar technology in 300 traffic signals at a cost of Rs 70 crore, which includes hardware changes/upgradation. “We can implement in 300 signals through our software at Rs 50 lakh,” he claimed.
The ERS, which connects traffic signals with the internet, is done through special software and hardware through cloud computing infrastructure. “To use this software all the emergency vehicles must have a GPS system on board. When an emergency vehicle arrives at the metro road junction, the signal switches to green and lets the emergency vehicle pass by. The traffic signal system reverts back to normal after the emergency vehicle has passed,” said Sadique.
If it is implemented in metro cities, it would be able to reduce the loss of lives on road that could have been saved if they got treatment on time. With the location information from the above system, a panic button mobile application has also been developed. This will help citizens to access these emergency services quickly.