Better, safe! IIT Designs State Of The Art Prototype Bus:

In a unique ‘Bus For Us’ contest, organised by the Department of Design at Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IIT-K), the students of Master of Design (M.Des) course have designed a prototype of hi-tech bus with several comfort and safety features.

Not only the model got first prize but also an assurance from JCBL (India) Private Limited, a Chandigarh-based bus manufacturing company that the bus would be manufactured and launched on Indian roads.

The Winners of the contest, KK Balakrishna and Sneh Singh said there is an immediate need to encourage public transport system so as to ensure easy flow of traffic.

The contest was organised to come up with the innovative ideas about the new designs of the buses. They also said, that the mandatory parameters included originality of idea, feasibility of concept, styling, designing and later designing a prototype.

Both students of design course, Balakrishna and Singh said, that the special features of the bus included camera and LCD screen (in place of rear view mirror), anti-drowsing safety device, front wheel drive, storage capacity under the seat etc. Explaining about the camera and screen feature, Balakrishna said, that often the objects of low height are not properly seen in the rear view mirror, therefore, the camera would record everything and display it on the LCD screen in front of the driver.

On the issue of safety, he said around 30 per cent road accidents occur due to driver’s drowsiness, therefore, the anti-drowsing safety device would keep the driver awake. “The device, when switched on, would spray a thin fountain of water on driver’s face at regular interval so that driver remains alert”. When asked about the feasibility of spray on drivers, he said that it would be a very soft spray, which would not disturb the concentration of driver and just keep him awake. He also said, that the height of the bus has been reduced to two meters and the front shape has been modified, keeping in view the aerodynamics.