Self-Driving Tata Nexon In India Meets Cow: What Happens Next? [Video]
A lot of people believe that autonomous driving, which is offered in Tesla EVs sold in international markets, is not a possibility for India. However, recently a video has been shared online in which an Indian startup that has been working on an autonomous car was shown driving on the highly unpredictable roads of India. This mind-blowing video shows this vehicle with autopilot maneuvering on tight Indian roads. What's even more surprising is that this vehicle even managed to make its way around a cow that came on the road.
Autopilot for Indian roads
This video, showing a Tata Nexon with the self-driving autopilot from the Bengaluru-based start-up Minus Zero, has been shared on YouTube by the company on their page. This short video starts off with a Tata Nexon sub-compact SUV parked outside a building. We can note that this particular vehicle was equipped with a lot of sensors on the front, and there was also a special carrier on the roof as well.
Following this, the vehicle then starts driving on the roads of Bengaluru. However, it has to be noted that, for safety purposes, there were occupants on the driver as well as the passenger seat. However, none of the controls of the vehicle, including the steering wheel and the pedals, were controlled by the driver.
This video from Minus Zero shows how its vision-based Urban Autopilot system navigates through the heavy traffic on narrow and unmarked roads of the city. It can be noted that this vehicle with the autopilot was skillfully handling parked vehicles, and it also successfully managed itself around vehicles approaching from the opposite direction on two-way roads without dividers.
Following this, the obstacle detection and handling capabilities of this autopilot system-equipped Nexon were shown. We can note that it was easily able to detect and adapt to sudden road dividers and also maneuver around a reversing car. Additionally, all Indian cities have very complex and chaotic intersections, and this vehicle was able to navigate through them.
Even drove around a cow
Also, on Indian roads, many two-wheeler riders suddenly cut in, and they do it from both sides, but this car was able to easily handle this tough situation as well. The system was also able to adjust its driving path to account for broken road surfaces and unexpected dividers. Additionally, the vehicle also performs emergency braking as well. We can note that when a cow came in front of the vehicle, it was able to stop and drive after the cow moved. It did the same when a pushcart vendor came in front as well.
Which company has developed this autopilot?
As mentioned above, the Bengaluru-based tech startup Minus Zero has created this super advanced autopilot system tailored for Indian roads. This company was founded back in 2020 by Gagandeep Reehal and Gursimran Kalra. Since then, it has taken an AI-first approach to autonomous driving. Also, it has differentiated itself from traditional rule-based systems.
Minus Zero uses vision-based autopilot, which relies primarily on camera inputs and lacks expensive LiDAR sensors and high-definition (HD) maps, which are often unavailable in emerging markets like India. The company also employs self-supervised learning and foundational AI models. The company so far has raised $1.77 million in funding, and its goal is to democratize AI for the next billion automotive users by providing advanced driver assistance and autonomous capabilities to Indian cars.