Eye on the road: Dashcams on Ahmedabad buses soon to record civic eyesores, disruptions

The initial plan is to install 1000 dash cams, for which tenders have been invited which will close on January 30.

The AMC has identified over 40 issues that the AI-enabled cameras on AMC buses should detect which include encroachments, parking violations, two-wheelers riding without helmet, wrong-side driving, damaged speed breakers, potholes and cracks on roads, cattle on roads, open drains and manholes, electrical wire jumble, damaged streetlights, unauthorised posters and graffiti, people sleeping on pavements and even spitting and urine stains on roads.

Under the project, dashcams across AMTS (Ahmedabad Municipal Transport System), BRTS (Bus Rapid Transit System), public transportation, and other corporation vehicles (maximum of three cameras per vehicle) will be installed. Currently, the AMC has a fleet of 325 BRTS buses with a 100-km network through a dedicated corridor, and 1,000 AMTS buses operating on over 225 routes.

The conditions for detection of garbage mandates, “The AI application should be capable enough to detect from the video feed from the dashcam where garbage is dropped on the road, footpath, in grounds where littering is not allowed. The system should detect this event 24×7 (both day and night) with an accuracy of 80 per cent in case of reporting issues detected.”

“The dashcam viewpoints shall be positioned to capture all the over 40 cases from a single vehicle, with one camera focused on the left side of the street, one focussed on the road surface, and another focussed on the centre of the road,” the tender states.

“However, the AMC is also open to innovations and ideas to maximize the number of use cases that can be accurately covered by a single camera,” an senior AMC official said. Additionally, the cameras should be adaptable for use in other vehicles to increase coverage of the city area.