Mumbai/New Delhi: As India embarks on a mission to guide in autonomous mobility by 2047, the NMICPS Expertise Innovation Hub on Autonomous Navigation (TiHAN) at IIT Hyderabad is main the cost with a girl engineer on the helm–Dr. P Rajalakshmi, who’s the Mission Director on the Dept. of Electrical Engineering, IIT Hyderabad.
TiHAN-IITH is working to strengthen trade collaboration, whereas additionally positioning itself because the nation’s first devoted autonomous automobile testbed.
Born in 2022 and funded by the Authorities of India via the Division of Science Expertise, the initiative goals to supply entry to superior infrastructure, knowledge, and collaborative alternatives for validating autonomous applied sciences in Indian driving circumstances.
“We now have developed an entire in-house autonomous driving stack. This proprietary system solely designed, examined, and validated by the institute, consists of multi-sensor fusion, notion algorithms, path planning, and management methods, representing a completely built-in end-to-end answer,” Dr Rajalakshmi informed ETAuto.
This stack, which is TiHAN’s mental property, has been field-tested via an autonomous campus shuttle, which is provided with core autonomous options together with Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) and Adaptive Cruise Management (ACC). It may detect obstacles, preserve secure following distances, and reply dynamically to its surroundings.
ETAuto has realized {that a} proposal has been submitted to TiHAN’s advisory board to introduce a negotiable membership mannequin for OEMs, suppliers and trade companions, with an indicative charge of round ₹1 crore for a three-year time period. This membership would grant entry to the autonomous testbeds, knowledge units, and analysis collaborations.
Functionality and power
The autonomous shuttle at present deployed at IIT Hyderabad has reached Expertise Readiness Degree 9 (TRL-9), indicating it has been efficiently examined, validated, and deployed in a real-world surroundings. Working day by day on campus, the shuttle carries 45–50 passengers with no driver.This locations the know-how only one step away from TRL-10, the stage at which options are industrialised and prepared for mass manufacturing.
Whereas the present deployment focuses on low-speed autonomous shuttles, TiHAN’s know-how stack is adaptable to higher-speed autos as properly. The institute emphasises that sensor fusion, notion, path planning, and management algorithms are all tailor-made primarily based on automobile sort and meant pace.
Dr Rajalakshmi asserted that the staff has the technical competence to develop end-to-end autonomous automobile options, adaptable throughout numerous use instances and driving circumstances.
At CES 2025 in Las Vegas, USA, the staff showcased its improvements and likewise signed an MoU with Tier-1 provider Sona Comstar.
Autonomous know-how in India
Expressing confidence in autonomous know-how turning into mainstream in India, Dr. Rajalakshmi emphasised its relevance in areas the place street security is a important concern.
“Human error stays the main reason for street accidents. Even attaining Degree 2 autonomy, with superior driver help, could make a big influence on security,” she famous.
Nonetheless, she sees Degree 4 and 5 autonomous applied sciences (the place no driver intervention is required) as extra viable for off-road use instances comparable to agriculture, mining, and port operations, quite than public roadways.
She added that absolutely autonomous autos should even be related and able to vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication. As soon as this built-in ecosystem matures, India has the potential to emerge as a worldwide chief in next-generation mobility options.
Way forward for mobility
Past floor mobility, TiHAN is actively growing heavy-payload autonomous drones and electrical vertical take-off and touchdown autos (eVTOLs) with a give attention to real-world use instances comparable to air ambulances, emergency evacuations, and cargo transport in distant or high-altitude terrains.
“These drones are designed to hold not simply people, but in addition substantial cargo hundreds, making them appropriate for sectors like fisheries, catastrophe response, and army logistics, notably in areas the place conventional street transport faces limitations,” she mentioned.
The 2 working prototypes embrace a 60 kg payload autonomous drone, able to transporting a nominal passenger, which has undergone over a 12 months of profitable testing at 100–150 meters above floor degree. One other is a cargo drone with a 150 kg payload capability, at present present process autonomous trials inside the 600-acre IIT Hyderabad campus, overlaying flight distances of three to three.5 km.
With innovation at its core and a transparent purpose in sight, TiHAN’s initiative, guided by a girl, seeks to speed up India’s efforts into the way forward for autonomous mobility.
