Proactive Offline Green Corridors to Save Critical Minutes in India's Traffic
ClearRoute is an open-source hardware + software initiative to reduce ambulance delays — a major cause of preventable deaths in India due to traffic congestion.
We deploy roadside indicator lights (LED strips or high-visibility bulbs) every ~100m along priority routes (main roads, hospital corridors). These lights activate ~5 minutes in advance in a sequential wave along the ambulance's exact path, giving drivers clear visual cues to pull over and clear the way before the siren is even audible.
The entire system is designed to work fully offline (no internet dependency), making it reliable in low-connectivity areas. It supports any ambulance — private, government (108/102), hospital-owned — for both pickup and hospital drop-off.
In India, delayed emergency response ranks as a top preventable cause of death. Existing "green corridors" are often manual (police-coordinated, mostly for VIP/organ transport), internet-reliant, or limited to junction signal preemption. ClearRoute shifts to proactive, driver-focused visual alerts across entire routes, giving road users time to react calmly.
- Advance Warning Lights — Sequential flashing LEDs (blue/red + optional text/arrows) activate 5 min ahead on the chosen route.
- Offline Ambulance App — Shortest/low-traffic route calculation; broadcasts route to lights.
- Long-Range Offline Comms — LoRa (1–5 km range, low-power, mesh-capable) for direct ambulance-to-lights signaling.
- Solar-Powered Resilience — Lights run on solar panels + batteries (3–7 days autonomy).
- Universal & Scalable — Works with all ambulances; start with pilot corridors (5–10 km to key hospitals).
- Driver Behavior Boost — Visual + potential audio cues; pair with awareness campaigns.
Emergency Call (Public/108/Private) ↓ Dispatch → Assigned Ambulance ↓ Ambulance App (Offline) • Mappls / OSM offline maps + routing • GPS location • LoRa module (broadcast route ID/hash + ETA window) ↓ (LoRa direct broadcast) Roadside Light Nodes (every 100m on priority paths) • LoRa Rx + ESP32/Arduino MCU • Solar + LiFePO4 battery • High-brightness LEDs (flashing sequence ahead) ↓ Lights activate progressively → Drivers clear path ↓ Ambulance passes → Optional proximity de-activation behind
- App (Android priority): Kotlin / Flutter
Offline Maps & Routing: Mappls SDK (India-focused) or GraphHopper / OsmAnd offline - Communication: LoRa (SX1276/78 modules, 433/868 MHz India-legal band)
- Light Nodes: ESP32 + LoRa shield, waterproof IP65 enclosure, 10–20W solar + battery
- Firmware: Arduino IDE / ESP-IDF (low-power modes, simple mesh/broadcast protocol)
- Future: LoRaWAN gateways for optional monitoring/fault reporting
- Concept & architecture defined
- README + initial repo setup
- Prototyping next: Hardware nodes (LoRa + LED), basic app routing, pilot route selection
- Seeking: Collaborators, hardware partners, pilot funding (NGOs, govt grants via Smart Cities / health initiatives)
- Power → Solar + efficient sleep modes
- Vandalism/Theft → Tamper-proof mounts, community involvement
- Cost → ~₹5k–15k per light; pilot small corridors first
- Regulatory → Start private ambulances; pursue 108/Govt integration later
- Adoption → Awareness drives + enforcement support
Most Indian/global efforts focus on junction signal preemption (e.g., LoRa/RF to change traffic lights when ambulance nears 2–5 km), not distributed advance visual lights every 100m:
- "Traffic-free emergency health corridor" (ScienceDirect, 2023+) — LoRa for line-of-sight roadside units to clear paths (prototype with Arduino + LEDs).
- LoRa-based intelligent traffic signal pre-emption (IJPREMS) — Ambulance sends signals to controllers for green lights.
- Automatic Traffic Light Control for Smart Ambulance (ANITS project) — LoRa modules trigger signals 2–5 km away.
- RTAIAED (PubMed, YOLOv8 + LoRa) — Audio/visual detection + LoRa for signal priority.
ClearRoute differentiates by: proactive 5-min visual alerts across routes (not just junctions), fully offline route-specific activation, and driver-centric LED strips/wave effect.
No exact open-source match found for distributed roadside advance indicators + LoRa routing.
We're early-stage — all help welcome!
- Hardware: Prototype LoRa + LED nodes (schematics, BOM)
- Software: App (offline routing), firmware (LoRa protocol)
- Docs: Diagrams, simulations, pilot plans
- Outreach: Funding ideas, regulatory contacts, awareness
Built to help ambulances reach patients and hospitals faster across India. Every minute saved is a life potentially saved.
Star ⭐ the repo if this resonates! Let's build something that matters.