IIT Hyderabad Soars High With India’s First Test-Bed For Autonomous Navigation; Launches A Fleet Of Inventions

In a pathbreaking development that could be a big leap in the automobile industry, India has set up country’s first Technology Innovation Hub on Autonomous Navigation (TiHAN) at IIT Hyderabad. In addition to this, the Institute also has unveiled three inventions- a drone capable of carrying humans, a driverless vehicle and an autonomous moving cycle! 

Autonomous vehicles not a distant dream anymore?

IIT Hyderabad’s inventions were a part of a project on autonomous vehicles by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) under National Mission for Cyber-Physical Systems that was assigned to the Institute for which it was granted INR 135 crore. IIT-H’s passenger drone vehicle (which is technically classified as semi-autonomous) will be of great use in rescue operations during natural calamities or in hilly areas that often witness landslides. 

Commenting on his Institute’s feat, the Director of Indian Institute of Technology-Hyderabad, Acharya BS Murthy said, "We are doing amazing research in the fields of science and technology. The presence of young professors and over a thousand research students is something that unites us. We have developed passenger drones and driverless vehicles with the help of Mechanical, Design, Electronics and all other departments. In 10 years' time, we will achieve tremendous progress in this realm."

Along with unveiling these inventions, India’s first test-bed for autonomous navigation (TiHAN) was inaugurated by Union Minister of State-Science & Technology Jitendra Singh on the IIT-H premises. TiHAN is meant for both ground and aerial vehicle testing and is recognized as a Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (Ministry of Science and Technology).

Commenting on TiHAN, MoS Jitender Singh said,

“TiHAN would provide a platform for industries, R&D labs, and academia to drive collaborative research in autonomous navigation, thus making India a global leader in these technologies. It will be the source of futuristic technology generation for autonomous vehicles while the testbed on autonomous navigations will allow us to test the next-generation autonomous navigation technologies accurately along with faster technology development and global market penetration.”

Autonomous Vehicles versus Legal Hassles

Autonomous vehicles especially autonomous cars can be very beneficial in a number of ways. They are projected to reduce traffic congestion and road accidents. These vehicles would also lead to lesser fuel consumption since they would be capable of smoother acceleration and deacceleration as compared to a human-driven vehicle. 

However, auto-driven cars may have to face difficulty in getting legal clearance in the future as presently there is no dedicated legislation to regulate self-driving vehicles in India. Even the amendment made to the Motor Vehicle Act in 2019 had no explicit mention of autonomous vehicles. 

There is also this debate regarding technology replacing manpower. Promoting autonomous cars on a large scale may also lead to unemployment. A few years back, India’s Road Transport and Highways Minister, Nitin Gadkari had said that the Government would not promote any technology that comes at the cost of people’s jobs and hence driverless cars are least likely to be allowed in India. 

With TiHAN in place, the research on autonomous vehicles might pick up the pace. But to make full use of such technologies, India’s laws need to catch up with the fast-evolving scenario of the Indian automobile sector.

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