Tech Mahindra bets on autonomous and driverless vehicle programmes

 Tech Mahindra, the information technology (IT) arm of Indian multinational Mahindra & Mahindra, is betting big on the autonomous and driverless vehicle programme as part of its game plan to give thrust on the automotive vertical.

In an interaction with Deccan Herald, Tech Mahindra Integrated Engineering Solutions global head Karthikeyan Natarajan said the company had been working for the last three years vigorously on various solutions as part of the autonomous vehicle programme.

“We have been working on building solutions for our connected cars. It is conceived as an autonomous platform where we have our own telematic solution on top of it. We want to make it an autonomous system like that of other auto companies,” he said.

Integrated Engineering Solutions (IES), a connected engineering solutions business unit of Tech Mahindra, aligns technology, businesses, and customers through innovative frameworks.

“Here we would like to focus on the auto vertical in three separate segments. They include connected cars, engine powertrain, and body engineering. For the past 18 months we have developed solutions on parking, lane departure warning, and driver health. These will eventually lead to semi-autonomous and later autonomous vehicles,” he said.

Natarajan said the company is working with many auto clients to integrate steering and braking systems, and is trying to do adaptive cruise control (ACC). “If you are trying to develop cruising system in your car, we have to handle data of the other car following you. Here we need the data to be fed into the system and analysed. It can’t be done manually. But the driver will have to touch the steering,” he said.

When asked about when autonomous and driverless car technology can be expected from Tech Mahindra, he said the company will have to work on it and develop more IPs (intellectual properties), algorithms, and applications.

“We have already developed about four to five of them and will register along with our customers. The Bengaluru centre plays a major role in this,” he said. Tech Mahindra’s engineering division is among the top three in the country and contributes 8 to 10 per cent of revenues and is expected to grow in double-digits. “We will exceed Nasscom prediction of 5 to 6 per cent growth. We have been doing well in the Americas and Europe. We are also doing well in the Chinese and Japanese markets,” he said.

IES delivers future-ready digital convergence solutions across aerospace and defence, automotive, industrial equipment, transportation, consumer products, energy and utilities, healthcare and hi-tech products,” he said.Tech Mahindra recently committed $150 million as part of its innovation programme.