Prime Minister Narender Modi gives the award to M Balakrishna for creating onBoard device for Visually impaired person

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OnBoard is a patented Bus Identification and Navigation System developed by IIT Delhi to assist visually impaired users in boarding the correct bus. OnBoard is licensed to RLF for global implementation.

The system has been successfully tested in Delhi and Mumbai on multiple bus routes, and now being deployed in other cities.

For this innovation Prof. M. Balakrishnan & Prof. P.V.M. Rao received a National Award from the Department of Science and Technology (DST).

Labeling of Bus Unit and user device for visually impaired persons

The device solves two challenges faced by persons with visual impairment

Helps identify the route number of the bus

Helps identify the location the bus door

Working principle of OnBoard

working principle image shows how onBoard device works for visually impaired persons

OnBoard Features

key features image shows the features of onboard devices that helps the visually imapired persons

OnBoard’s Journey

onBoard device journey image shows the journey in 2008(initiated as a student project), 2013(Phase-1 funding by DST), 2014(Trials in delhi with 5 DIMTS buses), 2015(trial with 25 buses by XRCVC and mumbai first), 2017-2018(phase-1 funding by DST), 2019(validation trials with 25 DIMTS buses), 2020-2022(proposal to raise financial support for scaling), 2023-2024(Deployment in bangalore and mysore)

Ongoing Deployments

Bus image

500 buses in Bangalore with BMTC

Supported by - continential

500 user modules distributed in Bangalore

200 buses in Mysore with KSRTC

Supported by - GIZ India

400 user modules distributed in Mysore

awards

Papers Published

2015

Bus Identification System For The Visually Impaired : Evaluation And Learning From Pilot Trials On Public Buses In Delhi

2012

Study of challenges faced by visually impaired in accessing buses and designing an affordable identification system

2010

User triggered Bus identification and homing system : Making public transport accessible for the visually challenged persons

Unsupervised boarding with Mr. Hari

OnBoard in Media

publisher company image (Disability insider)

New technology solution “OnBoard” for blind people to access public buses

publisher company image (The indian express)

Delhi : Visually impaired can ‘OnBoard’ buses now

publisher company image (The indian express)

Device to help blind board bus