Code for a Cause: Geofence, AI & ML Technology for Emergency Priority Vehicles
Tags: blockchain, android, motivation, anonymous
Published: 2020-04-10 07:26:57

The ever-increasing traffic in India is an intensifying problem. Most often emergency priority vehicles are unable to reach their destinations on time due to traffic congestion or are often stuck at a red signal. It was at the Make In India Hackathon at IIT-Bombay where this problem was presented to us. After brainstorming and putting our coding expertise together, my team and I were able to device a possible solution to the problem. We coded geofencing software to tackle this issue where priority vehicles could navigate easily and reach their destination on time.

What Is Geofencing and What Does It Do?
Geofencing is a location-based service software that uses GPS, Wi-Fi, Cellular Data, RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) to trigger a precoded action when an RFID tag or mobile device enters the geofence or the virtual boundary that is set up around a geographical location. Geofencing is most commonly used in mobile applications but can also be used to control and monitor vehicular movement. Thus was born our idea of developing a smart traffic solution and incorporating geofencing technology for the movement of emergency priority vehicles.

How Does It Work?
We used a Google map kit to geofence some of the busiest intersections in the city of Mumbai city. Geofencing is beneficial for long-range outdoor targeting which is usually an area of 50m to 50,000m in radius. In order to increase the efficiency of the fencing, we kept a fixed radius of 500m. To mark a specific location, the latitude and longitude have to be considered. To increase the proximity of the decided location, we create a radius. Together, the latitude, longitude, and radius of the location define the geofence where a circular fence is created around the specified location.

We developed a mobile application using Android Studio that is to be used as a system to trigger the geofence localised. The application needed to be started just like how an Uber driver starts a trip on the Uber application. The application has three categories to select from — Accident, Patient Transfer, Organ Transportation. Using the application, the driver can select an option, example — Accident. The application automatically navigates to the nearest hospital. Once the trip has been started and the priority vehicle is approaching an intersection, the geofence of the intersection is triggered 500m before the priority vehicle approaches the intersection and an alert for a green signal is sent to the computational controller. Hence, the response time of the priority vehicle increases and decreases the chances of an accident at the intersection when a priority vehicle is trying to make its way.

Coding Technology;
Our project was completely code driven and we used a combination of three coding languages Core Java, SQL, .Net (C#), R Lang, BlockChain to develop this project. 

Solving Real-Life Problems with Code;
Once you learn to code, I believe the possibilities are endless. I like to use my knowledge of code in resolving real problems. Through our geofencing project, we were able to find a solution and possibly alleviate the problem of traffic and free path for emergency vehicles. Programming can change the world and is an amazing skill to have to be able to make real-world changes and see your brainchild being implemented.

Appreciation & Recognitions Received;
1. Govt., of India (IIT-B) Make in India Popular Choice Award
2. Padma Shri 2020 Nominee under Science & Engg Field by Govt., of India