TrivandrumLife: The footover bridge at Pattom is getting inaugurated on Tuesday after a long wait. While all welcome a footover bridge at places like Vazhutacaud and Pattom where hundreds of students arrive on a daily basis, another innovative technology for easy movement of pedestrians, including visually challenged persons, is being ignored.
When the corporation and PWD proposed the footover bridge at Vazhutacaud, Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) has to remove the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Controller (PeSCo), a technology that could help pedestrians to turn on red signal for vehicles and help them cross the road. The CDAC was in the process of installing one in front of Cottonhill school when the Corporation came up with the idea of footover bridge. Thus CDAC was forced to find other suitable location, which it is yet to find out.
PeSCo was developed by Intelligent Transportation and Networking Section (ITNS) of C-DAC. The PeSCo could be accessed using push buttons, RFID readers and ultrasonic sensors. The users can manage the time required for them to cross and the pedestrian green signal will remain on till they cross. The PeSCo will provide audio signals for blind people to give information such as wait, walk and do not cross. There is even a pole locator tone to guide visually challenged person, using white cane, to the pedestrian crossing.
Officials of C-DAC had provided basic training for some teachers and students of Cottonhill to use the technology. The C-DAC chose the place considering the good number of students and staff, including disabled persons, in the school who could use the facility.
In addition to PeSCo, another technology Emergency Service Vehicle Priority System (EmSerV), development by C-DAC too remain unutilized after successful trial run. The EmSerV can identify arrival of an emergency vehicle and provide green signal for the vehicle from the direction of its arrival, allowing it to pass through the junction without interruption. It is being successfully tested at Kumarapuram junction.
C-DAC is planning to utilise these technologies under Smart City programmes.
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