Satyam Computers kickstarts digital car project

CHENNAI: IT major Satyam Computers today kickstarted its ambitious "India's digital car" project, Hera FxV, a "technology demonstrator" aimed at attracting Research and Development in the automotive sector to the country.

B Ramalinga Raju, Chairman and Founder, Satyam Computer Services, launched the initiative at a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) conference, titled "e-Automotive R&D 2007: The Opportunities Ahead".

The Digital car is the effort of a consortium of different players like educational institutions and auto component majors, with Satyam acting as the integrator, sources at Satyam computers told PTI on the sidelines of the conference.

"This car will be a virtual vehicle, which is a demonstration of India's technical capabilities. The project was inaugurated today and we hope to create the digital car in about two years," they said.

The model, termed a "Mathematical Model" by the sources, could be replicated into a physical product down the years, they added.

Raju, in his address, said that automotive industry was poised for "transformational changes".

"In fact, Satyam is now operating in sectors which were even unheard of in 19th century, an era of discovery, but are now some of the major revenue grossers for the company," he said while terming the subsequent centuries as those of inventions and innovations