This system can end water logging woes in Mumbai

A team of engineering students has developed an artificial intelligence (AI) system that can identify areas prone to water logging, and may help metro cities avoid tedious road congestions caused by monsoon showers.

The researchers, including Aman Bansal and Apoorva Gupta from Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology in New Delhi combined rainfall, traffic, and location data to predict the severity of water logging in the vulnerable areas.

The intensity of water logging was calculated based on the rainfall data and the day of the week, as traffic on weekends is significantly less than that on weekdays.

The data was fed into an artificial intelligence system that consists of a neural network that can derive patterns in the information fed to it.The system was trained by the students to reveal a water logging intensity score using an algorithm which could determine the extremity of the problem in the area.

Previously researchers used Internet of Things - a network small electronic devices installed in different locations to gather data about moisture, traffic, etc. However, the high cost of these devices made the project economically unviable.The system can also be used for pinpointing accident-prone areas and times in a city, for dynamically deciding strategic points for positioning of ambulances, calculating the effect of festivals and holidays on traffic, and can also be employed in urban road planning.(Text: PTI)