New software helps commuters choose ‘greener’ roads

• DRUM, a web app developed by IIT-Kharagpur, aims to reduce air pollution in major Indian cities.

• The app provides five route options: shortest, fastest, least exposure to air pollution (LEAP), least energy consumption route (LECR), and a combination of all four factors.

• The app uses real-time air and traffic data, reducing exposure by over 50% in Central Delhi and increasing commute time by 40%.

• The app uses GraphHopper, a Java-based routing library, to determine routes and fetch real-time traffic updates from Mapbox.

• The system uses a rank-based elimination method, prioritizing time, distance, pollution exposure, and energy consumption.

• The app has shown promise in simulations and is now planning real-world tests.

• The team is also exploring integrating crowdsourced data with data from low-cost sensors on vehicles, street poles, or those carried by commuters.

• The team is also looking to DRUM 2.0, which could suggest the best route now and the best time to leave, making it a smart mobility assistant for daily life in India’s most polluted cities.