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IIT Hyderabad launches India’s first fully autonomous electric buses, transporting 10,000+ passengers. -
Buses equipped with Autonomous Emergency Braking, Adaptive Cruise Control, achieve full operational maturity (TRL 9). -
TiHAN hub supports AI/ML training and autonomous driving testbed simulating Indian traffic conditions.
In a landmark move for India’s transport landscape, the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad (IIT-H) has deployed fully autonomous electric buses on its campus, marking the country’s first real-world implementation of driverless public transport. Developed by IIT-H’s Technology Innovation Hub on Autonomous Navigation (TiHAN), the buses come in two variants a six-seater and a fourteen-seater and have already ferried over 10,000 passengers with a reported satisfaction rate of 90%.
The vehicles feature cutting-edge safety and navigation technologies, including Autonomous Emergency Braking and Adaptive Cruise Control, and have achieved Technology Readiness Level 9, signifying full operational maturity. The initiative is supported by India’s first autonomous driving testbed, also developed by TiHAN, which replicates real-world Indian traffic conditions to validate self-driving systems.
While operations are currently limited to IIT-H’s campus, experts see this as a precursor to broader adoption of driverless public transport across India, subject to regulatory approvals and rigorous safety validations. The initiative positions IIT-H at the forefront of autonomous mobility research and innovation in the country.
