The IIT Hyderabad (IIT-H) has joined hands with Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC) in the field of autonomous navigation for terrestrial vehicles.

The technology developed at IIT-H will enable the conversion of a Drive-by-wire Vehicle into an Autonomous vehicle by integrating various sensors for perception, localisation and navigation.

SMC officials recently visited IIT-H to assess the readiness of the technology.

The state-of-the-art Autonomous Vehicle test bed at DST NM-ICPS Technology Innovation Hub on Autonomous Navigation & Data Acquisition Systems (TiHAN), IIT-H, will be used for testing and validating the technology, stated an IIT-H release on Thursday.

IIT-H and SMC have signed an agreement in 2021 to improve the technology that can contribute to road safety and road accident reduction in India by developing Autonomous Driving and ADAS technologies based on Indian traffic scenarios.

Prof B.S. Murty, Director, IIT Hyderabad, said: "IIT Hyderabad has been at the forefront of research & development in collaboration with industry. SMC is a valuable partner in our endeavour to develop an autonomous navigation system for ground vehicles in association with TiHAN."

The partnership is expected to strengthen the Indian-Japanese bond and allow the exploration of new joint development avenues.

"SMC collaborates with IITH in the development of autonomous driving technology to resolve problems such as vehicle collision and traffic congestion in India. We look forward to working with IITH on advanced mobility technology and strengthening human resources for international collaborative research and development," said Kurachi Nobunari, Department, General Manager, SMC.