By Vidhi Thacker
An Advanced Driver Assistance System, India’s first, by the Automotive Research Association is reaching its completion in Talegaon and will be used to test self-driving cars by automobile manufacturers.
Spread over 20 acres in Takwe near Talegaon, Pune, the test city has been designed as a replica of Indian road networks. This will provide the automobile industry to test ADAS in a more secure, safe and controlled environment, helping them to ensure that the features are effective in real-world driving conditions on the Indian roads.
Indian roads face unique challenges like potholes, stray animals, and changing local weather. Two and three-wheelers make up a big share of traffic in India, but they are not included in global ADAS norms and are also not used in most advanced countries. To capture these conditions, ARAI has collected data from 37000 km of roadways. These include highways, rural stretches and city roads from 20 cities in 24 states, which are now being used to build assisted driving technologies suited to India.
S-bends, parking lots, roundabouts, manhole covers and iron bridges can be replicated by the test track. The system is also being developed to read road signages in multiple languages and to handle cross-traffic as per local needs. India is currently at level 2 in ADAS technology and is moving forward. This stage uses sensors and cameras to warn drivers and can even take control of certain driving tasks for a short time.
Reji Mathai, director of ARAI, said at a conference on Wednesday that India must work on its own solutions and validation methods. He stated that the nation must take a leadership role in this space. According to him, such an initiative would be a game-changer for the Indian ecosystem, as it would create a platform where car companies and startups could test and evaluate their products.