Tolga Varol, a graduate of Izmir University of Economics (IUE), developed an artificial intelligence camera called "Travel buddy" that will reduce traffic accidents caused by driver errors while he went abroad for his master's degree. Varol, who designed a special device with the support of his German friend Roman Prytkov, that analyzes the interior of the vehicle and the road instantly and detects the level of fatigue from the change in the facial expressions of the driver, received 18 million lira-support from the European Union (EU). Stating that a consortium of famous automobile brands was formed for the implementation of the project, Varol stated that they also made an agreement with a national railway company in Europe. Varol, who lives in France, said, “95% of traffic accidents worldwide are caused by driver errors. Our goal is to make traffic safer for everyone.”
Tolga Varol (28) from Izmir graduated from IUE Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering in 2016. Having accomplished many extraordinary projects during his education and worked on smart home systems under the consultancy of IUE Rector Prof. Dr Murat Aşkar, Varol traveled to Europe for his master's degree. Varol, who completed a double master's degree with a scholarship in the fields of technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship at the Technical University of Berlin (TU Berlin) in Germany and the Royal University (KTH) in Sweden, decided to continue his professional life abroad. Combining his qualified knowledge with the spirit of entrepreneurship, Varol has developed many startup projects on different subjects so far.
CAUGHT THE ATTENTION OF THE COMPANIES
Deciding to develop a project to find solutions to traffic accidents, especially to detect driver errors and driving behavior about 3 years ago, Varol acted together with his German friend Roman Prytkov. Focusing on detecting which mistakes are made the most while driving and what behavioral changes occur in drivers with fatigue, Varol and his friend developed a special artificial intelligence camera as a result of detailed work. The project caught the attention of automobile companies in a short time. Presenting the project to many private brands operating around the world, the duo applied to the EU for support with a private consortium. The EU provided 1.5 million dollars for the project.
THE SIZE OF A SMALL BOX
Giving detailed information about the project, Varol said, “Research around the world show that 95 percent of traffic accidents are caused by driver error. At this point, we aimed to increase the brand values while reducing the operational costs of large fleet companies in the first place. We have produced a device in the size of a small box that can be attached to the windshield of the vehicle. The device is set up like normal vehicle cameras, simultaneously viewing and analyzing the road and the driver during use. It measures the driver errors or behavior during this time. It instantly informs the fleet managers about what is going on during the journey through the cloud platform. However, the most important thing is being able to analyze tiredness from facial expressions and attention and fatigue from behavioral changes with the help of artificial intelligence. Also, thanks to use of edge AI, the driver's personal data does not have to be saved.”
IT WARNS OF DANGER
Varol continued as follows: “While driving, the facial expressions of people can change. The time to close the eyelids and the joint points on the face differ, expressions change. The driver can turn his/her head left and right while driving. In fact, all these are indicators of attention and fatigue. The software created with artificial intelligence inside the device analyzes them instantly and presents data. It can also give a warning in case of a sudden change, for example, if the eyelid is closed for more than 3 seconds or if the driver is tired and follows the vehicle in front at high speed and for a short distance. In this way, the characteristics of the drive are determined, and an important data map is provided. In a sense, consultancy services are provided to the companies using the device on many issues such as the driver not repeating the same mistakes, eliminating the lack of attention, and how often she should drive.”
EASILY APPLICABLE
Stating that they started to implement the project as a pilot with the 'DriveAI' titled company they founded, Varol said, “We talked to many car brands. We had already brought the process to a certain point with these brands before we applied to the EU for the project. I cannot reveal their names, but we are in touch with world-known brands. It is not difficult to transfer the project we have prepared to automobiles. Currently, we have made an agreement with a national railway company in Europe using the same platform. We have reached a good point. We put a lot of effort on the project, it is the result of the R&D process of about three years. We want to be rewarded for these efforts. My professors, who trained me and supported me, also contributed a lot to my success. I would like to thank my university for this.”
