Students develop new 'driverless' electric car using AI in India

PUNE: A group of engineering students of a city-based private university have developed a "driverless autonomous" electric four-wheeler using Artificial Intelligence (AI) with the intention of reducing accidents and deaths caused by human errors.

This vehicle has been developed by the students of mechanical engineering and electronics and telecommunications branches of the MIT World Peace University.

"The car is based on level-III autonomy and uses BLDC motor. A lithium iron phosphate battery has been used to power the vehicle," Yash Keskar, one of the students, said.


Another student, Sudhanshu Manerikar, said that the steering, throttle and brakes of the vehicle are controlled using a number of AI and ML algorithms, involving leader cameras, microprocessors, automated action control systems and various sensors.

This vehicle has the power of three kilowatts and takes four hours to charge. It can cover a distance of 40 kms. Such vehicles have numerous applications in agriculture, mining, transportation, and other fields, he added.

Professor Dr Ganesh Kakandikar said that such electric vehicles can be used to connect metro stations to the adjoining areas, for transportation, at airports, in golf clubs, in universities, etc.

Other students, who were part of the project, were Sourabh Damkale, Shubhanga Kulkarni, and Pratyaksh Pandey.