Minister for Industries, commerce and IT, K T Rama Rao launches the project iRASTE, Telangana on Tuesday 12th June. The project was implemented by a consortium led by INAI in collaboration with the Department of ITE&C, Govt. of Telangana & TSRTC. INAI (Applied AI Research Centre) and IHub-Data (TIH and NM-ICPS) at IIIT Hyderabad have been making significant progress in the focus domains of Mobility and Healthcare since it was launched as part of the Telangana Year of the AI effort.  

Project iRASTE (intelligent Solutions for Road Safety through Technology and Engineering) applies a Safe Systems approach to road safety. The project will be extended to 200 buses following a satisfactory first phase that covered 14 buses, said a senior official of TRCT at the project's formal launch on Tuesday. 

iRASTE, which is about shaping intelligent solutions for Road Safety through Technology and Engineering, seeks to prevent accidents through a mechanism of alerts to drivers generated by deploying AI and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems. According to the TSRTC Executive Director (Engineering) C. Vinod Kumar, the corporation's annual compensation to accident victims is Rs 50 Crore. Therefore, considering the number of lives saved, the project's outcome will be critical. 

The plan is to bring in more busies on national and State highways under the project. Key persons associated with the project implementation said feed from the road-facing cameras installed in the buses helps send alerts to drivers about accidents. It will also generate data about black and grey spots on highways that might need some fixes from the Engineer's end. 

Some buses will also get driver-facing cameras that help monitor the driver, including whether he is showing signs of drowsiness or using mobile phones while driving.  

Mr Rao said that the State is at the forefront of encouraging innovation in emerging technologies and was also part of a few initiatives, including the Saagu Baagu project for the farmers. Appreciating the three projects, the Minister said the need of the hour is to evolve technology solutions that address local changes.  

Bodhyaan, a car data capture platform and MicroLabs, set up in collaboration with CSIR-IGIB, were also launched by the Minister.