To create smart mobility solutions tailored for India, a team at IIT Hyderabad has devised a technology that enables driverless vehicles to move around the institute's campus.

The Technology Innovation Hub on Autonomous Navigation, known as TiHAN at IIT Hyderabad, has developed the AI-based concept.

"We are investigating autonomous navigation technology tailored to the Indian context for both aerial and ground vehicles." Santhosh Reddy, Hub Executive Officer says.

“A self-driving vehicle built by the team has been operating on the institute's campus for the past year and a half on regular roads used by students and others, and there have been no accidents so far,” adds Santhosh.

He mentioned that over 10,000 passengers have already used the vehicle and that their feedback has been positive.
The vehicle is currently not utilized on public roads.

This technology is considered appropriate for use in places like airports, distribution centers, and extensive educational or industrial sites.

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The autonomous navigation stack functions in all weather conditions and on any type of vehicle ranging from electric to internal combustion engine vehicles. Currently, a driver is present in the vehicle as a safety measure, but he will not engage with the vehicle's operation.

He observes the vehicle and communicates any problems in its performance to the team, Reddy mentioned.

The team, when it began working on the project, simply wanted to progress incrementally without planning to operate the vehicle in either a controlled setting (such as on a campus of an educational institution) or for commercial purposes.

The initial task involved configuring the vehicle to operate autonomously. Subsequently, the team continued incorporating new features and safety upgrades, to enhance the vehicle's efficiency, he stated.

In response to inquiries regarding the present condition of the technology or the 'stack', he mentioned that initiatives were underway to enhance the safety features and to remove the need for the driver’s precautionary deployment.

He stated that the technology they developed can be adjusted based on the vehicle size and various other factors.

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Santhosh mentioned that the autonomous vehicle was showcased at additional locations too.

Regarding the project expansion, Santhosh mentioned that the objective is to improve the features and fulfill industry standards.