Continental, a global technology company, has partnered with the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) to scale up OnBoard, an innovative solution designed to enhance mobility for visually impaired passengers. This initiative, launched in 2023 under Continental’s CSR programme Conscience, was developed in collaboration with IIT Delhi and the Raised Lines Foundation (RLF). The technology assists visually impaired individuals in safely boarding buses by providing real-time audio cues.

Following a successful pilot on 25 BMTC buses, the project has now expanded to an additional 100 buses, with plans to equip 500 buses across Bengaluru. The announcement was made during a press conference at the BMTC Central Office, attended by Karnataka’s Transport Minister, Ramalinga Reddy.

OnBoard was initially developed at IIT Delhi with support from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST). The technology was later transferred to RLF, an IIT Delhi-incubated nonprofit. The system uses bus-mounted speakers to announce route numbers and guide passengers to entry doors, ensuring a seamless boarding experience.

So far, installations have been completed on the 401K and 401R routes, with the next phase set to begin in mid-July. Production of additional units is underway, with full implementation expected by August 2024. Extensive field testing conducted by RLF and Enable India in Bengaluru confirmed the device’s effectiveness under various weather conditions, including rain, heat and dust while maintaining stable connectivity.

The launch event featured a live demonstration and media interactions, emphasising the importance of public-private partnerships in advancing inclusive mobility solutions. Continental and BMTC’s collaboration highlights a shared commitment to making public transportation accessible for all.

Prashanth Doreswamy, President and CEO, Continental, said, “At Continental, we believe that mobility must be inclusive and accessible, it should lie at the very core of innovation. Therefore, through our CSR initiative, we aim to empower every individual with the freedom of movement. Technology has opened up a world of possibilities, and this is just a steppingstone. As a technology company, we see it as our responsibility to help shape the future of mobility, which is not just connected, autonomous, shared and electric but also inclusive. We are proud to work with BMTC in supporting the vision of a more connected and accessible Bengaluru.”

Ramachandran R, Managing Director, Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), said, “This project is a flagship initiative for inclusive urban mobility in Bengaluru. BMTC recognises that OnBoard is a crucial step towards making the city’s public transport system more accessible and inclusive, bringing it on par with other leading global cities. At BMTC, we are fully committed to this initiative and are aligning all internal efforts to ensure its smooth and timely deployment across our fleet.”

Prof M Balakrishnan, Honorary Professor, IIT Delhi and Chairman, Raised Lines Foundation, said, “Industry-academia collaboration has always been crucial while addressing any real-world challenges, and the OnBoard solution is a testament to that. Its deployment across the BMTC network will allow visually impaired individuals to navigate public transport. At IIT Delhi, we are excited and very proud to see a technology we have contributed to making such a meaningful difference in people’s lives, bringing the benefits of inclusive design to the heart of urban mobility. At Raised Lines Foundation, our mission has been empowerment of persons with visual impairment by providing access to inclusive solutions with focus on mobility, education and independent living.”

Comments (0)

ADD COMMENT

Link Copied!

Bengaluru-headquartered ER&D company L&T Technology Services (LTTS) has announced a multi-year engagement within its mobility segment from an automotive manufacturer. The agreement involves software, connectivity and digital engineering services across vehicle technology domains. This win follows the company’s investments in R&D labs and mobility infrastructure designed for programs with global manufacturers.

The engagement covers mobility engineering capabilities, including embedded systems, digital platforms, verification and validation, cloud integration and cybersecurity. LTTS intends to use its engineering expertise and delivery frameworks to support the customer's technology roadmap. 

At present, LTTS operates 22 design centres and 100 innovation labs globally.

The agreement strengthens the partnership between LTTS and the automotive manufacturer in the area of mobility engineering. The company provides design, development, and testing services across the mobility, sustainability, and tech segments. 

Alind Saxena, Executive Director and President, Mobility and Tech at L&T Technology Services, said, “We are proud to deepen our partnership with the valued customer through this strategic engagement. LTTS brings together domain-led engineering, secure development practices and excellence in global delivery to accelerate the future of premium mobility. The win reflects the trust placed in our teams and our commitment to delivering world-class engineering at scale”.

Comments (0)

ADD COMMENT

Link Copied!

French technology company Valeo and NATIX Network have announced a partnership to develop a multi-camera World Foundation Model (WFM). The project combines Valeo’s research in artificial intelligence and generative modelling with NATIX’s decentralised physical infrastructure network (DePIN) to create an open-source platform for autonomous driving and robotics.

The initiative aims to move beyond perception-based models by creating a system capable of predicting future states and reasoning about physical interactions in a four-dimensional environment. The model will be trained using NATIX’s data network, which has collected 600,000 hours of video data across the US, Europe and Asia over seven months. This data provides the multi-camera inputs necessary for the spatial perception required by autonomous vehicles and robots.

The partnership builds upon Valeo’s existing open-source frameworks, VaViM (Video Autoregressive Model) and VaVAM (Video-Action Model). While these frameworks were previously trained primarily on front-camera datasets, the integration of NATIX’s multi-camera network expands the AI’s field of vision to 360 degrees.

Under the open-source framework, the partners will release models, datasets and training tools. This approach is intended to allow the research community to fine-tune models and benchmark physical AI across various driving conditions and geographic regions. The collaboration seeks to accelerate the deployment of end-to-end AI models by learning from real-world edge cases captured by vehicles in operation.

Marc Vrecko, Chief Executive Officer, Valeo’s Brain Division, said, “Since our creation in 2018, Valeo’s AI research center has been at the forefront of AI research in the automotive industry, especially in the fields of assisted and autonomous driving. Our goal has always been to advance mobility intelligence safely and responsibly. By combining Valeo’s generative world modeling research expertise with NATIX’s global multi-camera data, we are accelerating both the quality and the accessibility of next-generation end-to-end AI models, enabling the research community to build upon strong open models.”

Alireza Ghods, CEO and Co-Founder, NATIX, added, “WFMs are a once-in-a-generation opportunity — similar to the rise of LLMs in 2017–2020. The teams that build the first scalable world models will define the foundation of the next AI wave: Physical AIs. With our distributed multi-camera network, NATIX has a clear advantage of being able to move faster than large OEMs.”

Comments (0)

ADD COMMENT

Link Copied!

Tata Technologies has announced the completion of the 3^rd edition of its innovation hackathon, InnoVent 2026, supported by Amazon Web Services (AWS). The initiative invited engineering students to develop solutions for mobility challenges in the automotive and manufacturing sectors. The programme received participation from 10,247 students across 404 colleges in India, resulting in 2,822 projects.

The competition focused on the theme of intelligence-driven mobility for the year 2030. Participants received over 650 hours of mentoring and training from subject matter experts to convert their concepts into prototypes. The top 10 teams presented their work at the company's Hinjewadi campus in Pune before a jury of industry leaders from Jaguar Land Rover, Air India and ES-Tec Group.

Team Drushti from CMR College of Engineering & Technology, Hyderabad, secured the first prize of INR 300,000 for a system that customises vehicle infotainment for visually impaired drivers. Second place went to Team The T-Factor from Vellore Institute of Technology, Chennai, for an AI-based breakdown prevention system. Team SwarmSync from the International Institute of Information Technology (I²IT), Pune, took third place for an intelligent fleet management solution using V2X communication.

Tata Technologies offered career opportunities to all 42 finalists involved in the top projects. Furthermore, all participants were granted one-year access to the iGETIT learning platform to study emerging technologies. The finalist projects covered areas such as blockchain for vehicle security, wireless charging for electric vehicles, and AI-led battery monitoring.

The event featured a humanoid robot that performed roles such as coordinating panel discussions and interacting with attendees. A panel of industry experts discussed the global demand for engineering talent and the impact of technology on future mobility.

Warren Harris, MD & CEO, Tata Technologies, said, "InnoVent at Tata Technologies represents our conviction that the future is shaped by those who combine engineering excellence with human purpose to engineer a better world".

Comments (0)

ADD COMMENT

Link Copied!

Kia India has announced the re-launch of its Kia Inspiring Drive (K.I.D) Program, debuting alongside the New Kia Seltos. The initiative is a driving score system designed to monitor real-time behaviour and provide insights into habits. Accessed via the Kia Connect app, the programme will be rolled out across the company’s connected vehicle portfolio in phases.

The K.I.D score is calculated using a three-month rolling average based on parameters including rapid acceleration, rapid deceleration and sudden starts. To ensure data accuracy, the system applies a weighted value based on the specific vehicle. This methodology aims to reflect long-term driving patterns rather than isolated incidents.

The programme incorporates community-based leaderboards, allowing owners to compare scores and track their standing within the Kia community. By turning road safety into an interactive experience, the manufacturer intends to encourage responsible driving through recognition and competition.

The behaviour-based scoring system provides data to help users understand the impact of their habits on road safety. Kia is supporting the re-launch with a digital and press campaign to increase awareness among its customer base.

Atul Sood, Senior Vice-President – Marketing & Sales, Kia India, said, “Safety remains at the core of Kia’s philosophy, and with the re-launch of the Kia Inspiring Drive program alongside the New Seltos, we are taking another meaningful step towards encouraging responsible driving behaviour. By offering customers clear, data-driven insights into their driving patterns, the KID program empowers them to make safer choices on the road, while also enhancing their overall ownership experience.”

Comments (0)

ADD COMMENT

Link Copied!