The Problem
Most school transport management systems in use are difficult to manage, inflexible, and expensive. This is mainly because of the tracking devices being used (RFID Reader, RFID Writer, GPS, and GPRS) which are very heavy, expensive and rigid.
The Strategy
In order to address this problem, Arjun has developed a tracking application that works just with a (cheap) smartphone in a bus. No other hardware is needed! The Locatera app locates and tracks the school bus (real time) to plan time to drop off or pick up the child. Parents using normal phones (without the app or Internet facility) can just make a 'missed call' to track the bus and the children inside. The app allows parents to receive alerts on the boarding and un-boarding of the child and if the child is present in the school bus. The app additionally tracks the distance of the school bus from the boarding point and the time the bus will take to reach the drop off point. Currently, pilots of the Locatera app are being tested in India and the UAE. In the future Arjun hopes to integrate the app into all schools in India (both private and government) and diversify into other markets like corporate and public transport. In addition to Locatera, LateraLogics has developed several other apps, including “iVolunteer for Chennai”, an app that connects people who wish to volunteer to help rebuild the flood-hit Chennai city with aid-seekers and other agencies.
The Person
Arjun is an eleventh grader who has always been fascinated with science and technology. He enjoys playing shuttle badminton and playing the keyboard. Some of his interests include Graphic Designing, Web Designing and Artificial Intelligence.
