IISER Bhopal innovators develop low-cost AI-enabled Crowd and Mask Monitoring System to prevent COVID-19 spread

Low cost AI-enabled device to prevent COVID-19 spread: Innovators at Bhopal’s Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) have developed a low cost AI-enabled ‘Crowd and Mask’ Monitoring System to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

As wearing masks and practicing social distancing are among the primary precautions adopted to prevent COVID-19 spread, innovators at IISER developed the AI-powered system to help maintain a minimum of three feet of social distancing as students return to campuses in phases.

The ‘Crowd and Mask’ Monitoring System uses the principles of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI-ML) in a high definition camera attached to a microchip computer and a 5V battery in a 3D printed case to monitor the movement of people in the campus. The device sounds an alert (a pre-recorded message) if the mounted camera detects that social distancing and mask norms are not being followed by students or in a gathering.

Talking about the innovation, Dr PB Sujit, Associate Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, IISER Bhopal, said, “We wanted a simple advisory system to warn students of breaching social distancing norms at selected locations.”

The AI-enabled device that can replicate manual policing to ensure enforcement of COVID-19 prevention norms has been developed Dr Sujit along with Dr Mitradip Bhattacharjee and Dr Santanu Talukdar – Assistant Professors at Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Dr Venkateshwar Rao – Assistant Professor at Department of Chemical Engineering and BSMS student Kasi Viswanath.

The team says it feels that given the opportunity this device can be deployed at various crowded public places to ensure that the basic Covid safety rules are not violated.