Tamil Nadu boys devise signal system to clear routes for ambulance

MADURAI: They were just two years old when twin brothers K Balakumar and K Balachandran lost their father K Kannan to a road accident when he was on his way from Kuttalam to Madurai.
The Class XII students of Melur government higher secondary school, who are now 18, believe their father could have been saved had the ambulance taken him faster to a hospital on the fateful day. This was the driving force behind an 'ambulance signal system' the siblings have invented to help ferry patients faster and possibly prevent deaths. Chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami has praised the efforts of the boys on Twitter.
"Whenever we heard about our father's death, our family always told us how he could have been saved if the ambulance had reached quicker. To prevent this from happening to any other family, we came up with this signal system," said Balakumar. The signal system works using circuit boards, GPS and sensors which are fitted to the ambulances and also to "special signals" that are to be fixed at junctions. These special signals also have a blue light and buzzer that go off when the ambulance is 2km away.
‘Traffic hotspots can be warned in advance’
Balakumar explained: “The sound of sirens, that too with the ambulance going at 100km/hr, often reaches up to a distance of 100-200 metres at the most. By then, it is too late for commuters to get out of the way quickly. By using this signal system, traffic hotspots can be warned in advance when the ambulance is 2km away, giving more time for commuters and traffic police to get out of the way.” The signal system was tested with GVK-EMRI 108 ambulances on Friday and received positive feedback.
Balakumar and Balachandran grew up under the care of their uncle S Senthil, who said the boys always had an interest in science since Class VI. “The system can work well especially if traffic police can also coordinate and clear the way in advance. This system would be very useful for bigger metro cities like Chennai and traffic hotspots in smaller cities like Madurai,” said the regional manager, Madurai Region, GVK-EMRI 108 Ambulance Services.
However, the boys and their family have little support financially.