Women in Engineering Day Special: TiHAN-IITH eyes industry-led vehicle test bed consortium
Mumbai/New Delhi: As India embarks on a mission to lead in autonomous mobility by 2047, the NMICPS Technology Innovation Hub on Autonomous Navigation (TiHAN) at IIT Hyderabad is leading the charge with a woman engineer at the helm--Dr. P Rajalakshmi, who is the Project Director at the Dept. of Electrical Engineering, IIT Hyderabad.
TiHAN-IITH is working to strengthen industry collaboration, while also positioning itself as the country's first dedicated
autonomous vehicle testbed
.
Born in 2022 and funded by the Government of India through the Department of Science Technology, the initiative aims to provide access to advanced infrastructure, data, and collaborative opportunities for validating autonomous technologies in Indian driving conditions.
'We have developed a complete in-house autonomous driving stack. This proprietary system entirely designed, tested, and validated by the institute, includes multi-sensor fusion, perception algorithms, path planning, and control systems, representing a fully integrated end-to-end solution,' Dr Rajalakshmi told ETAuto.
This stack, which is TiHAN's intellectual property, has been field-tested through an autonomous campus shuttle, which is equipped with core autonomous features including Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) and
Adaptive Cruise Control
(ACC). It can detect obstacles, maintain safe following distances, and respond dynamically to its environment.
ETAuto has learned that a proposal has been submitted to TiHAN's advisory board to introduce a negotiable membership model for OEMs, suppliers and industry partners, with an indicative fee of around ₹1 crore for a three-year term. This membership would grant access to the autonomous testbeds, data sets, and research collaborations.
Capability and strength
The autonomous shuttle currently deployed at IIT Hyderabad has reached Technology Readiness Level 9 (TRL-9), indicating it has been successfully tested, validated, and deployed in a real-world environment. Operating daily on campus, the shuttle carries 45–50 passengers without a driver.
This places the technology just one step away from TRL-10, the stage at which solutions are industrialised and ready for mass production.
While the current deployment focuses on low-speed autonomous shuttles, TiHAN's technology stack is adaptable to higher-speed vehicles as well. The institute emphasises that sensor fusion, perception, path planning, and control algorithms are all tailored based on vehicle type and intended speed.
Dr Rajalakshmi asserted that the team has the technical competence to develop end-to-end autonomous vehicle solutions, adaptable across various use cases and driving conditions.
At CES 2025 in Las Vegas, USA, the team showcased its innovations and also signed an MoU with Tier-1 supplier Sona Comstar.
Autonomous technology in India
Expressing confidence in autonomous technology becoming mainstream in India, Dr. Rajalakshmi emphasised its relevance in areas where road safety is a critical concern.
'Human error remains the leading cause of road accidents. Even achieving Level 2 autonomy, with advanced driver assistance, can make a significant impact on safety,' she noted.
However, she sees Level 4 and 5 autonomous technologies (where no driver intervention is required) as more viable for off-road use cases such as agriculture, mining, and port operations, rather than public roadways.
She added that fully autonomous vehicles must also be connected and capable of vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication. Once this integrated ecosystem matures, India has the potential to emerge as a global leader in next-generation mobility solutions.
Future of mobility
Beyond ground mobility, TiHAN is actively developing heavy-payload autonomous drones and electric vertical take-off and landing vehicles (eVTOLs) with a focus on real-world use cases such as air ambulances, emergency evacuations, and cargo transport in remote or high-altitude terrains.
'These drones are designed to carry not just individuals, but also substantial cargo loads, making them suitable for sectors like fisheries, disaster response, and military logistics, particularly in areas where traditional road transport faces limitations,' she said.
The two working prototypes include a 60 kg payload autonomous drone, capable of transporting a nominal passenger, which has undergone over a year of successful testing at 100–150 meters above ground level. Another is a cargo drone with a 150 kg payload capacity, currently undergoing autonomous trials within the 600-acre IIT Hyderabad campus, covering flight distances of 3 to 3.5 km.
With innovation at its core and a clear goal in sight, TiHAN's initiative, guided by a woman, seeks to accelerate India's efforts into the future of autonomous mobility.
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