TfL awarded £500,000 to six bus operators to develop new ideas that would improve safety across London’s bus network in November 2017. RATP and Seeing Machines received £90,000 funding for their joint proposal to trial Guardian in 74 vehicles covering two of their bus routes over 3 months.

This funding will cover training of RATP engineers, unit costs, shipping and installation of Guardian into each vehicle as well as 24/7 monitoring fees. In addition to this, Seeing Machines Chief Scientific Officer – Human Factors, Dr Mike Lenné, will consult to the project to oversee data collection and analysis which will ensure that the outcomes are closely associated with TfL objectives and apply directly to the London bus network.

RATP employs well over 3,000 people, maintains a fleet of nearly 1,200 buses and is responsible for 70 bus routes across the London network. Recognising that driver fatigue and distraction is a big problem in the transport industry, RATP believe that Guardian will help them identify the volume and duration of fatigue and distraction events – something that they are currently unable to quantify but are aware presents a major hazard to the safety of drivers and their passengers, as well as other road users.

In addition, Seeing Machines and Guardian will also help RATP to tackle issues with training, shift pattern review and education; and Guardian’s real-time in-cabin alerts will provide major benefits in the process by preventing incidents before they occur.