Indian Company Eyes Driver's Seat In Driverless Vehicle Technology
car&bike Team
1 min read
Jun 19, 2017, 02:55 PM
Key Highlights
- The firm is already working at various stages with all the OEMs in India
- It has already increased R&D headcount to 120 from around 50
- The company has revenue of around $10 million at present
Mid-summer, a group of IIT- graduates and their seniors were sweating it out in the outskirts of Gurugram, fiddling with their laptops to calibrate sensors as they prepare for yet another round of testing a fully driverless shuttle. The campus of Hi-Tech Robotic Systemz Ltd offers very limited space for such testing but that has not stopped the company from developing Novus Drive autonomous shuttle that can ferry over six persons, which was showcased at the Auto Expo last year.
Gaurav Singh, alumni of Carnegie Mellon University has spent close to three years on the project and for him seeing the shuttle drive on its own is a feeling that words cannot easily describe.
"This is about passion. To come up with such a product out here in India and not America, also shows what we can achieve with dedication and hard work," he said.
The company, founded in 2004 by Anuj Kapuria, who dropped out of his PhD programme at Carnegie Mellon University, has been working silently over the last decade to master driverless vehicles technology -- a domain where Google and Tesla are the front runners.
However, being an Indian company in an area where not many have ventured into, it has not been an easy journey for Hi-Tech Robotic Systemz to come up with a driverless shuttle and such technology for other vehicles.
"One of the most challenging parts is the awareness and trust among global customers about the technology coming from India for self-driving vehicles," Kapuria told PTI.
Yet, he said the company has been able to overcome the hurdle through the intellectual property which it has generated over years both in the US, Europe along with India and other emerging countries.
When asked how confident is the company of competing with the likes of Google, Tesla and other global firms in the area of autonomous driving, he said: "We are competitive to the enabling tech if not better."
Elaborating further, he said: "When we compare with Google or Tesla, we still need to clock more self-driving miles to make our autopilot and fully autonomous algorithms more robust, which we are doing by collecting lot of data with our driver assistive systems."
Kapuria said while companies in India like Hi-Tech Robotic Systemz can play their part in the global pursuit for perfection of autonomous driving technology, the government also needs to play its role to support the industry.
"We still do not have the regulatory framework to enable testing of autonomous vehicles," he said.
Expressing similar views, Ritukar Vijay, head of Robotics - Tech and Strategy at the company said: "We have the technology ready but we need more trials on real-time traffic, which at the moment we are unable to do."
So it has been an uphill task to collate data from other driver assistive systems that the company has developed and integrate to pure autonomous driving technology, he added.
Kapuria is banking on "the current forward-looking government" so that India can be "very soon among very few countries in the world with regulatory frameworks and vision for the adoption of autonomous vehicles, specifically in smart cities".
Also, driver assistive systems are something which can be mandated or users can be incentivised for reducing the number of accidents in the country, he added.
With the presence in both mobile robots and drive assistive systems, the company has revenue of around $10 million at present. It has set an ambitious target of touching $350- 400 in the next five years.
"Our core tech is globally competitive and we already are in talks with few of the North American OEMs for enabling autonomous navigation for their vehicles," Kapuria said.
Reiterating that arrival of autonomous vehicles is inevitable in the coming times, he said "all the global players realise this multi-billion dollar opportunity, which will take the complete auto industry for an overhaul".
The company is preparing itself to cash in on the opportunities. It has already increased R&D headcount to 120 from around 50 three years back. "We are living in exciting times. Being the early movers in developing the technology and intellectual property around underlying tech for autonomous and driver assistive systems, we are in a position to offer full spectrum of products ranging from Autonomy Level 0 till Level 5," Kapuria said.
The Gurugram-based firm is already working at various stages with all the major OEMs in India. "Now we are looking outwards and going global with our proven track record and long-term contracts with blue chip OEMs for driver assistive systems, AEB, autopilots and fully autonomous vehicle technology (software + hardware)," he said.
Kapuria, however, said the road towards autonomous driving would be incremental in nature. It will start from driver assistive systems such as forward collision and lane departure warnings, autonomous emergency braking, traffic assist to autonomous vehicles that ranges from highway autopilots, constraint environment autonomy till fully autonomous vehicles. Patience is the key here.
Gaurav Singh, alumni of Carnegie Mellon University has spent close to three years on the project and for him seeing the shuttle drive on its own is a feeling that words cannot easily describe.
"This is about passion. To come up with such a product out here in India and not America, also shows what we can achieve with dedication and hard work," he said.
The company, founded in 2004 by Anuj Kapuria, who dropped out of his PhD programme at Carnegie Mellon University, has been working silently over the last decade to master driverless vehicles technology -- a domain where Google and Tesla are the front runners.
However, being an Indian company in an area where not many have ventured into, it has not been an easy journey for Hi-Tech Robotic Systemz to come up with a driverless shuttle and such technology for other vehicles.
"One of the most challenging parts is the awareness and trust among global customers about the technology coming from India for self-driving vehicles," Kapuria told PTI.
Yet, he said the company has been able to overcome the hurdle through the intellectual property which it has generated over years both in the US, Europe along with India and other emerging countries.
When asked how confident is the company of competing with the likes of Google, Tesla and other global firms in the area of autonomous driving, he said: "We are competitive to the enabling tech if not better."
Elaborating further, he said: "When we compare with Google or Tesla, we still need to clock more self-driving miles to make our autopilot and fully autonomous algorithms more robust, which we are doing by collecting lot of data with our driver assistive systems."
Kapuria said while companies in India like Hi-Tech Robotic Systemz can play their part in the global pursuit for perfection of autonomous driving technology, the government also needs to play its role to support the industry.
"We still do not have the regulatory framework to enable testing of autonomous vehicles," he said.
Expressing similar views, Ritukar Vijay, head of Robotics - Tech and Strategy at the company said: "We have the technology ready but we need more trials on real-time traffic, which at the moment we are unable to do."
So it has been an uphill task to collate data from other driver assistive systems that the company has developed and integrate to pure autonomous driving technology, he added.
Kapuria is banking on "the current forward-looking government" so that India can be "very soon among very few countries in the world with regulatory frameworks and vision for the adoption of autonomous vehicles, specifically in smart cities".
Also, driver assistive systems are something which can be mandated or users can be incentivised for reducing the number of accidents in the country, he added.
With the presence in both mobile robots and drive assistive systems, the company has revenue of around $10 million at present. It has set an ambitious target of touching $350- 400 in the next five years.
"Our core tech is globally competitive and we already are in talks with few of the North American OEMs for enabling autonomous navigation for their vehicles," Kapuria said.
Reiterating that arrival of autonomous vehicles is inevitable in the coming times, he said "all the global players realise this multi-billion dollar opportunity, which will take the complete auto industry for an overhaul".
The company is preparing itself to cash in on the opportunities. It has already increased R&D headcount to 120 from around 50 three years back. "We are living in exciting times. Being the early movers in developing the technology and intellectual property around underlying tech for autonomous and driver assistive systems, we are in a position to offer full spectrum of products ranging from Autonomy Level 0 till Level 5," Kapuria said.
The Gurugram-based firm is already working at various stages with all the major OEMs in India. "Now we are looking outwards and going global with our proven track record and long-term contracts with blue chip OEMs for driver assistive systems, AEB, autopilots and fully autonomous vehicle technology (software + hardware)," he said.
Kapuria, however, said the road towards autonomous driving would be incremental in nature. It will start from driver assistive systems such as forward collision and lane departure warnings, autonomous emergency braking, traffic assist to autonomous vehicles that ranges from highway autopilots, constraint environment autonomy till fully autonomous vehicles. Patience is the key here.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Related News
Latest Cars
Upcoming Cars
Trending News
Latest News
car&bike Team | Dec 27, 2025Honda Patents Steering Assist Tech For MotorcyclesHonda patents a steering assist concept that subtly intervenes during blind-spot risks.1 min read
Jafar Rizvi | Dec 27, 2025Listed: Car Manufacturers That Will Hike Prices From January 2026Based on the announcements made so far, the price increase across car models is expected to range between 2 and 3 per cent.3 mins read
Jaiveer Mehra | Dec 26, 2025India-Spec New Renault Duster Teased Ahead Of Jan 26 DebutA new teaser video provides brief glimpses of the upcoming all-new SUV which seems to get some notable styling differences over its global sibling.1 min read
Jaiveer Mehra | Dec 26, 2025New Mahindra XUV 7XO Teaser Confirms 540 Degree CamerasLatest teaser video confirms the SUV will get the new 540 degree camera set-up from the XEV series as well as a few other features.1 min read
car&bike Team | Dec 24, 2025Updated Bajaj Pulsar 150 Launched At Rs 1.09 Lakh: Gets LED Lighting, New ColoursThe Pulsar 150 is offered in three variants with prices topping out at Rs 1.15 lakh (ex-showroom).2 mins read
Janak Sorap | Dec 24, 20252026 Kawasaki Ninja 650 Launched at Rs 7.91 LakhWith E20 compliance, the 2026 Ninja 650 receive a new colour update and a premium price tag.1 min read
Jafar Rizvi | Dec 24, 2025MG Windsor EV 38 kWh Long-Term Report: IntroductionThe Windsor EV has joined our garage, and before it settles into daily duty, I took it out to get a sense of what living with an electric car is like.4 mins read
Seshan Vijayraghvan | Dec 23, 20252026 Kia Seltos Review: Formula Is Spot On, But Is The Timing Right?The 2nd-gen Kia Seltos has arrived, but it has the challenge of facing strong rivals like the Victoris and Sierra. The question is simple - Does it still have what it takes?9 mins read
car&bike Team | Dec 26, 2025Tata Punch EV Long-Term Second Report: Highway Performance, Pros & ConsAfter a week of living with the Tata Punch EV Long Range—including a proper Mumbai-Nashik highway test—we've learned what this little electric SUV is really made of.1 min read
Seshan Vijayraghvan | Dec 22, 20252026 Tata Harrier & Safari 1.5 Hyperion Review: By The Power Of Petrol!The new Tata Harrier and Safari petrol packs a new 1.5-litre TGDI Hyperion engine, but is it an ideal alternative to the diesel version?7 mins read
Bilal Firfiray | Dec 19, 2025Maruti Suzuki e-Vitara Review: Worth The Wait?After a long wait, the first-ever electric Maruti Suzuki is here. It’s the e-Vitara, and it comes with a few promises. But arriving this late, is it worth the wait? Or is it a case of too little, too late?9 mins read