The students have developed a device, which can visually detect the gap between individuals and play a proximity alert sound through audio output, for any violation of the social distancing norms

IIT-Kharagpur’s Autonomous Ground Vehicle (AGV) research group under the Centre of Excellence for Robotics Research has developed a low-cost AI-based cyber-physical system for monitoring social distance in public places, said a statement issued by the institute on Saturday.

The students have developed a device, which can visually detect the gap between individuals and play a proximity alert sound through audio output, for any violation of the social distancing norms. The device uses images in the field view of a camera and computes the distance as per criterion set by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

Team AGV, working under the Centre of Excellence for Robotics Research and led by Prof. Debashish Chakravarty and Prof. Aditya Bandopadhyay, has engineered this device leveraging readily available hardware while the lockdown was in place.


“Our objective was to ensure that we are able to manufacture the device and not merely put forward a design due to the lockdown situation. We further focused on the ease of deployment even in remote locales and curtailing the cost by using inexpensive and easily accessible hardware stack,” said the AGV innovators.

The researchers are confident that the device will find its utility in maintaining social distancing norm in crowded places, including markets and malls.

Prof. V K Tewari, Director, IIT Kharagpur, said, “While we are working on national mission projects related to Covid-19 healthcare, we are simultaneously working on frugal innovations to cater to the immediate needs on our campus in particular and the country in general.”