A one day workshop on 'Smart Road Infrastructure for Smart Cities' was organized by the Civil Engineering Department of Punjab Engineering College (Deemed to be University) on 24th July, 2018. The event was inaugurated by Dr. R.R. Singh, HOD, Civil Engineering. He welcomed the participants and gave a quick overview of the workshop.
The course began with a lecture by the keynote speaker, Dr. P.K. Gupta. He highlighted that 'smart roads' or 'smart highways' essentially use a suite of technologies that are intended to be both interactive and largely self-powering. Hence a multidisciplinary approach is needed to developing smart solutions to our problems.
Following this an engaging session was held by Prof. B.K. Tiwari, MNIT Jaipur. He elucidated about the various components and devices that help in making roads 'smart'. Cameras and sensors embedded in our roads can detect congestion, traffic blockage or diversions and relay this information in real time back to upstream vehicles through digital signage allowing drivers to vary their speed accordingly or take alternative routes.
Prof. Praveen Aggarwal, NIT Kurukshetra gave an enlightening lecture focused on autonomous vehicles and their functioning. Another technical session, held by Mr. Rominder Singh Bedi, Bentley Systems laid emphasis on the importance of developing infrastructure to support these vehicles of the future. He also mentioned that extra care should be taken to develop sustainable technologies that use alternative sources of power. Prof. S.K. Verma, PEC talked about the latest inventions and smart materials which are being used in India and abroad.
The concluding session of the day was held by Mr. Sanjay Arora, SE, Chandigarh Administration. Real life examples were discussed through case studies. He spoke about how in Japan and Israel, this technology relies on piezoelectric crystals placed below the surface of asphalt used on roadways. The participants gained an insight into real life uses of key concepts that they learn during their studies.
The workshop was attended by over 60 professors, Ph.D., M.Tech and B.Tech students from esteemed institutions like MNIT Jaipur, PU, UIET, NIT Kurukshetra and PEC. Digital solutions could radically change the face of road travel in India, making it a safe, smart and comfortable experience. The workshop was a successful step forward in this direction.
