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
Latest News
car&bike Team | Feb 15, 2026Maruti Suzuki Brezza Facelift Spied With 6-Speed Manual GearboxLatest images of the test car’s interior suggest that it could become the first Maruti to get a 6-speed manual gearbox.1 min read
Jaiveer Mehra | Feb 15, 2026SIAM Reports PV Sales Of Almost 4.5 Lakh Units, 2W Sales Of Over 19 Lakh Units In January 2026SIAM reported that sales of passenger vehicles and two-wheelers were the best ever for the month of January.1 min read
car&bike Team | Feb 14, 2026Kawasaki Ninja, Versys Models Available With Discounts Of Up To Rs 2.50 LakhThe highest discount is being offered on the Ninja ZX-10R, followed by the Ninja 1100 SX and ZX-6R models.2 mins read
car&bike Team | Feb 14, 2026Vespa Officina 8 Launched At Rs 1.34 LakhThe Officina 8 takes inspiration from Piaggio’s historic experimental workshop in Pontedera, Italy.1 min read
Bilal Firfiray | Feb 12, 2026MG Majestor vs MG Gloster: What’s New, What’s Different?MG Majestor replaces the Gloster as MG’s new flagship SUV for 2026. Here’s a detailed comparison between the two.4 mins read
car&bike Team | Feb 12, 20262026 MG Majestor: Variants, Features, Specifications ExplainedThe Majestor will be offered in two key trim levels including Sharp and Savvy and in both two-wheel and four-wheel drive variants.2 mins read
Jafar Rizvi | Feb 15, 2026Maruti Suzuki Victoris: Long-Term Review - Report 1The Victoris is Maruti’s latest offering for the Indian market, and after spending some time with it, here are a few early impressions.1 min read
Bilal Firfiray | Feb 12, 2026BMW X3 30 xDrive M Sport Review: The Driver’s SUV ReturnsRange-toppingX3 30 xDrive M Sport brings back the fun with 255bhp and genuine enthusiast appeal. Does this performance-focused SUV stand out?5 mins read
Bilal Firfiray | Feb 11, 2026Mercedes-AMG CLE 53 Coupe Review: The Goldilocks AMG?The Mercedes-AMG CLE 53 Coupe is a concoction of hooliganistic performance and everyday usability. Here’s why this Rs 1.5 crore two-door AMG might be the perfect modern sports coupe for India.6 mins read
Girish Karkera | Feb 11, 2026Toyota Ebella EV Review: Compact And Fun-To-Drive With The Promise Of Stress-Free AftersalesNo hiding the fact that it is a clone of the Maruti Suzuki eVitara, but the first all-electric Toyota in India is reasonably well-rounded8 mins read
Bilal Firfiray | Feb 10, 2026Tata Punch EV Long Term Review: Small EV With A Big-Hearted PersonalityWith the new Punch EV Facelift just around the corner, we decided to take a look at what it excels at and what could be improved.7 mins read