BENGALURU: Self driving and autonomous cars have been a big obsession of tech world in the past few years.
Top tech companies are investing billions into technologies that can make this a possibility.
A city-based engineering team of Savari, a US startup that builds software and hardware sensors for automobiles, has been working on a V2X or Vehicle-to-Everything communication technology that are key to self-driving vehicles.
This vehicle communication system also includes - Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I), Vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), Vehicle-to-Pedestrian (V2P), Vehicle-to-device (V2D) such as your phone.
When can Bengaluru or India get its own self-driving cars? Saighiridhar V, Senior Director of Engineering, R&D, Savari says that that India’s adoption of automation is in the very early stage, but there is growing interest and positive support from the government.
“Integrated or self-communicating vehicles will soon be a part of this city but currently, our country’s infrastructure is not ready for it yet. Major car manufacturers, their suppliers along with other IOT companies around the globe are pushing for connected and self-driving car technology including Savari’s V2X tech, which is developed by our Bangalore team.”
The V2X communication is also key to ensuring traffic safety and can be integrated as part of traffic management system of the city. A number of US cities such as Washington DC, Arizona, Palo Alto, Virginia and Shanghai in China have all implemented V2X communication to increase traffic predictions, safety and efficiency and prepare the road for autonomous and self-driving cars, says Saighiridhar.
The city’s traffic woes are well known to all. In such a situation V2X tech could serve as a solution, says Saighiridhar. Not just Bengaluru, but all major cities across India have a bad record when it comes to road accidents and traffic. V2X communication technology is essential and indispensable for building the transportation of the future, especially in densely populated urban environments like that of ours, he adds.
“To give you an example, the US Department of Transportation (USDOT) says V2X can prevent 80 per cent of the car accidents that occur today. This forecast is accepted across the V2X industry and should provide similar reductions in accidents here in India as well.”
Bengaluru will continue to be the centre for the company’s R&D in Savari’s goal of advancing V2X technology for autonomous and self-driving cars, and smart cities, says Saighiridhar. “We plan to make a multimillion dollar investment in India over the next three years,” he adds.