Engineering College in Gujarat Builds Autonomous Car in 28 Days

Google, for one, has already started testing their autonomous car and thinks that it'll be ready in a couple of years. Apple Inc. is also reportedly getting ready to enter the market. But there are some Indians in the mix too who wish to see the technology here. Say hello to 2 professors, Kaushal Jani and Nirav Desai from the Amiraj College of Engineering, Gujarat, who, along with a bunch of 15 students, embarked on a project to build their own version of a driverless vehicle. Called Dextra's Smart Mobi car, it is a driverless car based on a mobile app.

"Yes, we had examples of Google and Apple, but making a driverless car in India is a big challenge. Neither is the technology available here, nor is there the infrastructure. So it was a big challenge for us to make the software work. We have taken a basic step towards making a car autonomous," says Kaushal.

Kaushal, who spearheaded this project, wanted to complete it in just 15 days. In fact, everything had been chalked out to complete it in record time. "There are always some unforeseen problems that one faces and the trial and error methodology takes some time. We tried our best and worked even on rest days but finally completed the project in 28 days, which is not bad at all, right?" said Kaushal.

The car, as one can see, was not built from scratch; so technically it's just a kit that they attached to a Hyundai i10. There is no particular reason why they chose the i10. He quips, "We needed a guinea pig and it was available."

The car comes equipped with high-range cameras and sensors, all of which are readily available in the market, for object detection. The sensors, placed all over the car, detect movement and consequently, help the car decide suitable course of action, i.e. to brake or to accelerate. The sensors used on this car can detect objects within the range of 2 - 4 feet. The team believes the aforementioned range isn't enough, and are, thus, trying to extend the range to 10 feet in order to make it safer and better. The total equipment for the car cost around Rs. 2 lakh, and needs 3G connectivity, which, in the current scenario, is a bit dicey, even in the metro cities.

"Infrastructure is the main reason why the entry of the autonomous car in our country might be delayed, but we will see growth in the European markets in the next few years. We have the expertise in India and really good engineers too, but money is always a barrier to innovation. We have the Make-in-India wave coming our way and I hope we can eliminate a whole bunch of obstructions if engineers from all over the country pool in their resources," said Kaushal.

Kaushal believes autonomous cars are not only for people looking for respite from driving. He explains, "Self-driving cars can and should also help the physically handicapped and this will help them get from one place to the other without any hassles."

When asked if any car manufacturer had shown interest in the Dextra Smart Mobi car, Kaushal replied in the negative, but said that he's expecting a surge in enquiries soon. Smart cars are the future, and even though this car might appear to be a crude version, it is a baby step to something definitely bigger.