Hyderabad: Applicants for driving licences in Telangana may soon be tested by cameras and software, with far less human intervention, as the transport department prepares to bring Artificial Intelligence (AI) to its test tracks.
The plan was first reported by The Times of India. According to the newspaper, the department wants AI-based video analytics to watch applicants as they perform the prescribed manoeuvres and help decide whether each was done correctly.
The department decided to go ahead after the committee on automated driving test tracks submitted its report. Members had visited testing facilities in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha to study how the systems work there. “Based on the committee’s report, the department has decided to proceed with the upgrade,” Joint Transport Commissioner M Chandra Shekhar Goud said.
Goud said strict and transparent tests were essential to improve road safety and reduce accidents. “Reducing human intervention in the testing process will help bring greater consistency and transparency to the assessment of licence applicants,” he said. Officials said applicants would be assessed mainly on their actual driving skills, not through a process involving substantial manual intervention.
In the first phase, the tracks in Hyderabad’s Core Urban Region (CURE) and the one under the Karimnagar Regional Transport Office (RTO) will be upgraded.
Goud and other officials inspected the tracks at Kondapur and Nagole on Tuesday, September 29. Officials from the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) joined the inspection, and that the department and Maruti Suzuki India Limited are jointly planning the upgrade.
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