Bengaluru: The traffic police department in Bengaluru has launched an app based on artificial intelligence to improve traffic management in the city, officials said.

The AI-backed Actionable Intelligence for Sustainable Traffic Management (ASTraM) app is designed to offer holistic insights into road traffic scenarios, aligning with the objectives of the Road Safety Awareness Week.

Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) MN Anucheth said the app’s role as a smart traffic engine provides comprehensive insights for data-driven decisions to the traffic police officials. “The ASTraM app encompasses congestion alerts, incident reporting through a mobile application bot, special event management, and dashboard analytics,” he said.

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A bot, a shortened form of the word robot, is a software program that performs automated, repetitive, pre-defined tasks.

Anucheth explained that the app would deliver real-time congestion alerts to jurisdictional traffic officials every 15 minutes. “These alerts, integrated with the e-attendance system, aim at providing timely notifications to junction jockeys and sector officers. The goal is to keep various stakeholders informed for more effective traffic planning and management,” he said.

The Bengaluru traffic police’s plans involve leveraging data analytics to predict traffic congestion. “This involves monitoring data and conducting a comparative analysis with real-time traffic to enhance responsiveness to deviations from regular traffic volumes,” he said.

Meanwhile, Karnataka deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar highlighted the city’s persistent traffic challenges and the need for advanced technology to address them. Shivakumar said the use of artificial intelligence technology to monitor traffic will ensure a proactive approach to alleviate traffic snarls.

Speaking at a road safety event in Bengaluru’s Kanteerva stadium, the deputy chief minister said, “The National Crime Records Bureau data suggests that most of the accidents in Karnataka are caused by two-wheelers and most of the bikers lose their lives in these accidents. It is important to follow traffic rules and wear a helmet while driving,” he said,

“I still see many people on bikes without helmets and they must understand that life is precious. The government has already directed traffic police not to spare anyone who violates traffic rules. They have cancelled almost 6,000 driving licences over the past few months,” he added.

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Shivakumar also said that they would be using high-end technology including artificial intelligence to monitor traffic in Bengaluru. “Thousands of new vehicles come to the city every day and managing traffic in Bengaluru is a challenging task. We would be using artificial intelligence (AI) to monitor vehicles’ movements and act accordingly. We are joining hands with the BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike) in charting a plan for better management of traffic. The officials are also studying the traffic management systems of developed nations to implement similar strategies here,” he said.