India looks to launch aircraft-like 'black box' system for public transport

Govt is learnt to have asked all state tranpsort corps to install the IoT-enabled system in public buses by Apri1, 2019; centralised control units in various zones will monitor data, run analytics

If all goes well, India may soon have sensor-based tracking devices, akin to the 'black bixes' installed in aircraft, in all public vehicles across the country.

The central government is learnt to be actively looking at introducing an IoT (Internet of Things)-based technology to improve public transportation systems, especially state-run buses.

Two years ago, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways had put forth a white paper on introducing an IoT solution that would digitalise rides data and feed it real-time to a central monitoring system. Other than the emergency response, this was also seen as a means to give the authorities enough visibility to tackle the ever-growing traffic crisis.

With this in mind, the ministry had asked private players in the market to develop the box as per AIS 140. AIS, or Automotive Industry Standard 140 is a new standard that was prepared in partnership with Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI).

Broadly, the so-called ‘black box’ is a vehicle-tracking system with camera surveillance, and features an emergency request button. The device, which will be fitted with GPS (Global Positioning System) navigation system, will generate data pertaining to driving patterns and health of the vehicle, among other things. It is also expected to have the capability of providing power back-up for at least four hours and alerts on potential break-downs.

Fleet-tracking systems aren't something new in the country, with several private logistics firms already using the technology for quite some time. However, AIS 140 is the first state-led effort to IoT-enable all public transport in India. The plan also includes setting up centralised control units in various zones to monitor the data and run analytics.

“This is a real-time system. The (data) transfer happens every five seconds,” said Ashish Verma, president of Transportation Research Group of India and a faculty at Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.

“This can be used for route-planning, routine check-up scheduling and to improve fleet operations, reliability of service, longevity, and easing congestion on roads,” added Verma.

The government is learnt to have asked all state transport corporations in the country to install AIS 140-compliant solution in public buses by April 1, 2019. The solution may be gradually extended to other modes of services in the future.

Based on the framework, IoT firms have been asked to develop the box and OEM (original equipment manufacturers) to configure their vehicles with these devices. Several firms have launched their AIS 140-compliant boxes and are at various stages of negotiation with state governments for deployment.

“We are one of the first firms to develop the black-box solution which is 100 per cent AIS-compliant,” said Jurgen Hase, chief executive officer at Unlimit, a two-year old IoT solution company under the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group. “It offers real-time visibility of the vehicles and allows for authorities to automate several functions and receive alerts.”

With population and the number of vehicles growing on the roads every year in India, solving congestion is a major issue for transport authorities.

While technology-heavy companies such as Uber, Ola and even Tesla are now at the forefront of spearheading the transformation in the transport sector, public transport is deemed to be the next frontier for driving this disruption. Several countries are innovating in this area, basically laying emphasis on two pillars -- safety and efficiency.

“While the effort has been made, you dread Bangalore traffic. It’s a nightmare,” said T V Mohandas Pai, a prolific venture capital investor and former director at Infosys. Pai, who is also a part of a 2015 government committee that gave recommendations on technology initiatives for roads, highways and ports sectors, says that there an immediate need of adopting technology systems and improve management for safer and smoother commute.