IIT-H Unveils the Future with Its Driverless Shuttle
The shuttle has already completed more than 10,000 passenger rides, recording a 90 per cent satisfaction rate.
Hyderabad: A small white electric shuttle has been quietly navigating the internal roads of IIT Hyderabad’s campus, moving without a driver yet equipped with advanced sensors and AI that help it detect obstacles, map routes and carry passengers safely.
First deployed in August 2023, the autonomous shuttle is the creation of the Technology Innovation Hub on Autonomous Navigation (TiHAN), funded by the department of science and technology (DST) under the NM-ICPS mission. The initiative reflects an ambitious vision to make India among the first countries to develop autonomous mobility technologies tailored to its own roads and weather conditions.
Prof. P. Rajalakshmi, project director of TiHAN and a faculty member in Electrical Engineering and AI at IIT-H, said, “We’ve built and tested the full self-driving stack, from sensors and path-planning to response algorithms, all right here on our own testbed,” she explains, referring to India’s first integrated autonomous navigation facility that features smart roads, rain simulators, drone runways and rainproof test circuits.
The shuttle has already completed more than 10,000 passenger rides, recording a 90 per cent satisfaction rate. For many students, it has provided a tangible glimpse into the future. “At first, stepping into a driverless vehicle gave me butterflies,” said Gaurav, a third-year engineering student. “Now I actually look forward to the ride. It glides smoothly and feels oddly reassuring.”
His classmate Karthik added, “The shuttle brakes, takes curved campus paths expertly and doesn’t jolt. It’s amazing to walk into tomorrow, right here.”
With its Technology Readiness Level at 9, the shuttle is considered nearly field-ready. TiHAN aims to scale this technology to airports, logistics centres and gated communities. In the longer run, the hub has plans for autonomous drones, air mobility platforms and driverless cars designed for India’s unique environments.
