Racing towards Smart Mobility: Tech Innovation Hub inaugurated in IIT Hyderabad to develop unmanned vehicles

Hyderabad: Union minister of state (Independent charge) for Science and Technology Dr. Jitendra Singh inaugurated the first-of-its-kind, state-of-the-art 'Autonomous Navigation' facility to develop unmanned ground and aerial vehicles at the IIT Hyderabad campus known as Technology Innovation Hub on Autonomous Navigation (TiHAN). The minister interacted with start-ups developing unmanned ground motor vehicles like driver-less, self-driven motor cars and driver-less, self-driven bicycles and unmanned aerial vehicles, including drones.

Funded by the Union ministry of Science and Technology at a budget of Rs. 130 crores, TiHAN is a multidisciplinary initiative that is expected to make India a global player in the futuristic and next-generation 'Smart Mobility' technology. Dr. Jitendra Singh listened to the experience of the young start-ups engaged in unmanned vehicle navigation projects and suggested they should be linked with the industry for further sustenance and growth.

The minister appreciated IIT Hyderabad for rolling out a new post-graduation course, M.Tech in "Smart Mobility", which is the first of its kind in India. He said he was glad to know that the ministry of Science and Technology has played a role in promoting this visionary and futuristic initiative in India which is going to be of global relevance in the years to come.

The minister said the vision of TiHAN-IITH is to become a global player for next-generation smart mobility technologies and the ministry of Science and Technology has come forward to support this initiative which will be a trendsetter for others as well. Dr. Singh said limited testbeds or proving grounds exist worldwide to investigate the operation of unmanned and connected vehicles in a controlled environment by simulating various scenarios that may occur in real-life traffic operations, ranging from frequently occurring to extreme cases. A few examples include Millbrook Proving Grounds in the UK, M-City in the USA, CETRAN in Singapore, K-City in South Korea, JARI in Japan, etc. In India, there is presently no such testbed facility for assessing autonomous vehicle performance, hence the need for this TiHAN Testbed, the minister added.

He said the TiHAN Testbed will provide a unique platform for high-quality research between academia, industry, and R&D labs both at the national and international level, thus making India a global leader in autonomous navigation technologies.