With the aim of making Hyderabad a honking-free city, the traffic police are planning to introduce "acoustic cameras" that will help detect vehicles honking beyond permissible limits.

AV Ranganath, Hyderabad joint commissioner of police (traffic), and other senior officials tested the acoustic camera at the main Police Control Room junction on Wednesday, Telangana Today reported.

The joint commissioner had earlier studied the technological and legal aspects of using the acoustic camera to detect honking violations. German company Acoem Group, which makes acoustic cameras, demonstrated how honking vehicles can be identified even at busy intersections.

According to officials, fines will be generated electronically as per the law and levied on motorists honking beyond permissible limits.

Hyderabad traffic police test an acoustic camera at a junction.

How do acoustic cameras work?

With the help of multiple microphones and sensors, acoustic cameras track the source of honking sounds that are beyond 75 decibels. When a car honks, the microphones in the system zero in on the source of the sound. The camera also captures the footage of the license plate and driver of the vehicles. The recordings are then used to generate fines on the violators.

In 2019, Purpose, a Delhi-based NGO, had conducted a trial run of acoustic cameras outside the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi. The camera used during the Delhi trial comprised 32 microphones, a high-definition camera, a flash, a display screen and a processing system. This system was already in use then in over 40 cities in China and had proved to be 90 to 95 percent accurate, The Times of India had reported.

At present, acoustic cameras are being used in Israel and Germany to detect unnecessary honking, NewsMeter reported.

Will it work in India?

While conducting trials in 2019, Purpose has used the system to initially catch all sounds created by vehicles. It had later increased the decibel level to 75 and above to achieve better accuracy. After the revision, the system caught the sounds of horns, a Times Now report said. The 75-decibel level is over the level deemed safe by medical professionals.