Technology

Intel reinforces mission to enhance road safety in India

The company hosted a ‘Safety Pioneers Conference’ in New Delhi to bring together leading organisations from the industry, academia and the government to collaborate, innovate and advance road safety while also showcasing Intel® Onboard Fleet Services

At the Safety Pioneers Conference held in New Delhi which was inaugurated by Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, Intel brought together leading organisations engaged in technology along with transportation providers, vehicle makers, and academia and government agencies to collaborate and create solutions to address road safety-related challenges. With their unique experiences and capabilities, the collaboration will act as a catalyst to not just save lives on the roads but also promote local innovations. The Safety Pioneers Conference will serve as a platform to introduce pioneering road safety initiatives.

It will also bring to the fore technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT), Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) and other emerging aspects that can bring impact on a large scale. Furthering its focus on using technology for road safety, the company showcased Intel® Onboard Fleet Services, an AI-powered fleet safety solution for commercial vehicles. As a first-of-its-kind initiative, this comprehensive solution brings world-class and road-tested technology, exclusively designed for Indian conditions. It offers collision avoidance systems (CAS), driver monitoring systems, fleet telematics, fleet health and fuel efficiency features.

The solution is already deployed by 16 customers like Sure Group Logistics, Sankyu India Logistics and others across sectors such as hazardous materials, cold chain, third-party logistics (3PL) and employee transport, indicating that this technology can reduce the probability of accidents by 40% to 60% and estimates that overall efficiency losses can be reduced by up to 50%. Commenting on the conference and road safety initiatives, Nivruti Rai, Country Head, Intel India and Vice President, Intel Foundry Services, said, “Road safety has always been a pressing issue in our country with the highest rate of traffic accidents in the world.”

“Advanced technologies such as AI are playing a transformational role in enabling smarter and safer vehicles, roads, transportation systems and drivers. Intel along with its ecosystem partners from the government, industry and academia has been relentlessly working towards leveraging the power of technology to help achieve India’s road safety goals. And this conference further extends the commitment by bringing together critical players to collaborate, innovate and advance road safety for India,” he added. Intel® Onboard Fleet Services is powered by a portfolio of in-cabin devices, along with a state-of-the-art cloud portal that includes actionable insights, analytics and reports for fleet managers.

Salient Features

The Intel solution includes a best-in-class advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) from Mobileye, a world leader in AI-based collision avoidance systems. With its integrated offering, the Intel® Onboard Fleet Services’ cloud portal offering can help improve overall efficiency, enable preventive maintenance and reduce operating costs. In addition, public sector transport organisations can achieve significant economic benefits via reduced accident compensation payouts by adopting the solution. Intel’s solutions also include advanced telematics, covering vehicle health and fuel analytics along with a unique driver scoring and rating module. This can significantly help fleets reduce the risk of accidents and downtime, while encouraging good driving practices through targeted incentives and reward programmes.

At the heart of the solution is driver coaching, which activates 15 different inputs to provide individualised coaching recommendation for commercial fleets that lose up to 25 workdays per accident involved. The reason why this solution matters is that India has one of the highest rates of traffic accidents in the world – responsible for nearly 11% of all road fatalities across the globe with just 1% of the world’s vehicles. There are 17 deaths every hour and an accident every minute on Indian roads. Six out of 10 accidents involving commercial fleets can be prevented with timely driver interventions. Moreover, the commercial fleet industry suffers efficiency losses up to Rs 48,000 crore per year due to accidents and fleet breakdowns. Now, more than ever, it is imperative for technology and transportation providers, vehicle makers, academia and the government to form alliances and work in a cohesive manner to find the root cause and address the problem of road safety. A ‘safety first’ mindset can significantly advance the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways’ goal of reducing the number of road accidents and fatalities by 50% by 2025, while also providing commercial fleet operators a business edge via efficiencies gained. Moreover, tapping the capabilities of advanced technologies such as ADAS, IoT, etc. can drive significant operational efficiencies, and add local innovations for the Indian fleet market and save lives on roads.