How India Leverages Nvidia Accelerated Computing to Streamline Tollbooth Traffic Management

Nvidia's accelerated computing is revolutionizing tollbooth traffic management across India, enhancing efficiency on its vast road network, which spans four million miles and encompasses 1,000 tollbooths.

India boasts the world's second-largest road network, predominantly managed manually. Traditional tollbooths contribute significantly to traffic delays and congestion, impacting commute times across the globe.

To streamline toll operations, Calsoft, a technology company with Indian-American roots, has integrated a comprehensive suite of Nvidia technologies with India's leading payment system, the Unified Payments Interface (UPI).

Automating toll systems offers substantial time and labor savings compared to manual operations. However, the diversity of license plates in India presents unique challenges for automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) systems, as the non-standardized plates vary widely in color, size, font, placement, and even language.

Calsoft's innovative solution enables automatic reading of vehicle plates, directly charging drivers' UPI accounts. This advancement significantly reduces the need for manual toll collection, providing a crucial step towards alleviating regional traffic issues.

Automation in Action

As part of a pilot program, this technology has been implemented in major metropolitan areas, achieving approximately 95% accuracy in reading plates using an advanced ANPR pipeline.

Vipin Shankar, senior vice president of technology at Calsoft, noted the critical role of Nvidia's technology in overcoming challenges, particularly nighttime detection and improving model accuracy amid environmental factors like fog, rain, and bright reflections.

The solution leverages Nvidia Metropolis to track and detect vehicles throughout the tolling process. Metropolis combines visual data and AI to enhance operational efficiency across various industries.

Calsoft's engineers utilize Nvidia Triton for managing AI models and employ the Nvidia DeepStream SDK for real-time data processing. This enables advanced capabilities, including real-time object detection and classification.

Additionally, Calsoft incorporates Nvidia hardware, such as Jetson edge AI modules and A100 Tensor Core GPUs, within its solutions. Their tollbooth technology is designed to be scalable, accommodating future growth and ensuring adaptability as traffic conditions change.