The Autonomous BAJA SAEINDIA 2024 (aBAJA) kicked off with great fanfare, marking the first day of the one-of-a-kind student competition centred on autonomous all-terrain vehicles (AATV).

This 3-day competition (from 4 to 6 October 2024) is hosted by the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI), Pune, and marks a milestone for BAJA SAEINDIA as autonomous vehicle technology was introduced to the engineering competition. Five teams from throughout the country compete in the event, each of which must complete a unique set of tasks meant to evaluate the performance of their vehicles and teamwork.

Pre-event preparation tests were carried out at ARAI, Kothrud, Pune, from 30 September to 3 October, in the run-up to the tournament. Among these were comprehensive technical examinations, in which vehicles' electrical, mechanical and autonomous systems were carefully assessed to make sure they complied with competition regulations. Assessments of team preparedness and safety briefings were also conducted. To help teams test and improve their autonomous vehicles and make sure they matched the competition's rigorous requirements, trial run tracks were built up for the dynamic events such as Object Detection, Classification and Tracking (ODCT) and Remote Driving System (RDS).

On the first day, static events like the design evaluation and business presentation took main stage. These occasions gave the teams a chance to showcase their creative approaches and intricate designs, emphasising the intricacy and foresight required to create autonomous systems. Teams will test their vehicles' capabilities in real-world scenarios on the second day, which is expected to feature exciting activities that highlight engineering ingenuity and expertise.

Highlighting the significance of hosting the event at ARAI during the welcome address on behalf of ARAI, Ujjwala Karle, Joint Convener, Phase 3 of aBAJA SAEINDIA 2024 & Deputy Director, Technology Group, ARAI, said, “It is an honour for ARAI to host Phase 3 of aBAJA SAEINDIA 2024. This event highlights our commitment to bridging academia and industry. It is inspiring to witness students exhibit the passion and boldness necessary to tackle the complexities of the automotive landscape. BAJA SAEINDIA serves as a vital ‘Introduction to Industry’ (i2i), providing hands-on experience with real-world challenges. Furthermore, initiatives like the iNTELLIMOBILITY Ideathon empower participants to address pressing mobility issues with innovative solutions. We at ARAI are proud to support BAJA SAEINDIA and wish all participants great success in this year’s event.”

Emphasising the importance of technological innovation in shaping the future of mobility, the Chief Guest for the event, Umesh Shah, Managing Director, Autoliv, said, “aBAJA represents a confluence of creativity, engineering, and technology. It is through such initiatives that we inspire the next generation to think beyond conventional solutions and tackle real-world problems with courage and a spirit of innovation. I congratulate the participants for taking up this challenge and encourage them to bring forward their passion and ideas that will shape the mobility landscape in India and beyond. The efforts of the organising committee and all those involved in this competition are commendable. Their dedication ensures that aBAJA continues to be a platform where emerging engineers are not only tested but also encouraged to innovate and grow. I wish all the participants the very best in their endeavours and extend my best wishes to BAJA SAEINDIA as they continue to break new ground with aBAJA SAEINDIA 2025."

Shahkar Abidi, Assistant Editor at Autocar, graced the occasion as the Guest of Honour. Stressing the importance of continuous learning and practical exposure for engineering students, he said, “Autonomous driving and intelligent mobility are no longer just concepts; they are the future. BAJA SAEINDIA has always been ahead of the curve in providing hands-on experiences to students, and aBAJA is a testament to this vision. The passion and drive I see among these students will surely propel them to become future leaders in the automotive industry.”

The grand inaugural ceremony also saw the presence of esteemed dignitaries from both industry and academia, including Ganesh Rao, Director of R&D at Continental; Shantanu Sonar, DGM at Daimler Truck Innovation Centre India (DTICI); Dr P Rajalakshmi from TiHAN, IIT Hyderabad; Balraj Subramaniam, Chairman of the Organising Committee of BAJA SAEINDIA and Saurabh Chitnavis, Joint Convener of aBAJA SAEINDIA 2024.

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  - Dr Kamal Vora October 06, 2024 06:55 AM

  Autonomous BAJA SAEINDIA 2024 is a great initiative of SAEINDIA and I would like to congratulate BAJA Committee members, ARAI, Ajeenkya DY Patil University and all the sponsors & supporters for this initiative. The registration of BAJA SAEINDIA 2024 with early bird incentive starts on 6th Oct 2024 from 8 to 10 pm. For sponsorship or registration, please contact vorakc04@gmail.com

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Lauritz Knudsen Electrical and Automation has entered into a partnership with Orion Racing India, the Formula Student team of K J Somaiya School of Engineering, Mumbai.

The collaboration is intended to support engineering students at the grassroots level and strengthen the development of electric mobility capabilities within India.

The partnership focuses on hands-on learning and experimentation in the design of electric and autonomous vehicle platforms. Lauritz Knudsen aims to foster skills in power distribution systems and electric vehicle charging infrastructure, areas central to the company’s industrial focus.

Orion Racing India has operated in student motorsport for nearly 20 years, transitioning from internal combustion engines to electric prototypes in 2019. The team uses electric race cars as a platform for students to address challenges in – energy management, power systems, vehicle safety and performance engineering.

Naresh Kumar, COO, Lauritz Knudsen Electrical and Automation, said, “India’s electric mobility journey will be shaped by the ecosystem we build today. At Lauritz Knudsen, we believe meaningful change begins early, when young engineers are encouraged to build, experiment, and apply their learning to challenges. By engaging with students who are actively working on electric vehicle technologies, we are helping develop future ready talent that will play a defining role in India’s mobility and energy future.”

Dr. Ukrande, Director of K J Somaiya School of Engineering, added, “Orion Racing India has a long and proud legacy of representing K J Somaiya School of Engineering at Formula Student competitions over the years. What makes this journey special is the continuity each batch of students builds on the learning, experience, and spirit of those before them. Through hands-on work on electric racecars, our students move beyond textbooks to real engineering challenges. Support from industry partners like Lauritz Knudsen further strengthens this learning ecosystem and motivates students to innovate in areas critical to India’s mobility future.”

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Horse Powertrain has announced kAIros, a company-wide artificial intelligence (AI) initiative led by its Horse Technologies division. The programme aims to reduce time-to-market by nearly 50 percent, decrease low-value process work by 40 percent and improve design cycle efficiency by 25 percent.

The initiative is supported by Nvidia, Google Cloud and Deloitte, focussing on engineering, production and business operations.

At the core of the initiative is the Horse Powertrain AI Factory, which supports model training, simulations and digital twins. The infrastructure is designed to generate training data to refine models and improve real-world deployment.

The technical framework includes:

• Nvidia RTX PRO servers equipped with Blackwell Server Edition GPUs.
• Google Cloud NVIDIA RTX 6000 Blackwell Server Edition GPUs.
• Nvidia AI software, including CUDA-X, Omniverse and Cosmos, to accelerate application development.
• Google Gemini Enterprise for the deployment of AI agents to automate coordination tasks.

The kAIros initiative supports physical AI, connecting real-world operations with virtual systems in real time. This integration enables autonomous decision-making for cobots, automated guided vehicles and smart machinery. Key applications include video-based quality inspection, product simulation and robotics for process optimisation across factories and logistics.

A Centre of Excellence has been established to lead internal AI development. This multifunctional team will build applications to scale industrial expertise across the organisation and improve predictive accuracy in propulsion solutions.

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NXP Semiconductors has announced a series of robotics solutions designed for real-time data processing, sensor fusion and motor control. Developed in collaboration with Nvidia, these ready-to-deploy systems implement the Nvidia Holoscan Sensor Bridge with NXP’s system-on-chip (SoC) technology to reduce component count, power consumption and costs in robotic development.

The solutions focus on Physical AI, which requires low-latency data transport to synchronise motion and sensor data. By integrating the Holoscan Sensor Bridge into NXP's software, developers can establish a direct transport route between a robot's body and its central processing unit.

The architecture incorporates several NXP technologies:

• i.MX 95 Applications Processor: A machine vision solution designed to deliver high-bandwidth data to the robot brain.
• i.MX RT1180 Crossover MCUs: A motor control solution based on a kinematic chain.
• S32J TSN Switch: Aggregates motor control data and provides direct connectivity to the brain using Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) and EtherCAT protocols.
• Asymmetric Data Transport: Technology acquired through Aviva Links to manage high-throughput data across the robot body.

The unified architecture is designed to support humanoid form factors, which require complex motor synchronisation and real-time perception. NXP’s automotive-grade networking and functional safety expertise are used to ensure the reliability of these systems in physical environments.

Charles Dachs, Executive Vice-President and General Manager, Secure Connected Edge at NXP Semiconductors, said, “Physical AI is redefining what machines can do in the real world, and humanoid robots represent the most complex expression of that revolution. By combining NXP’s deep expertise in edge processing, secure networking, functional safety and real-time control with Nvidia robotics platforms, we are greatly simplifying physical AI development, enabling seamless connectivity between the physical AI edge and the central brain. This is just the beginning of what NXP will deliver to accelerate the ecosystem for physical AI.”

Deepu Talla, Vice-President of Robotics and Edge AI, Nvidia, commented, “The development of autonomous machines requires a high-performance computing architecture that can synchronize complex motor controls with real-time perception. By integrating Nvidia Holoscan Sensor Bridge into its edge portfolio, NXP is providing developers with a scalable foundation to accelerate the deployment of physical AI.”

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Tokyo-headquartered deep-tech company TIER IV has announced that it has developed new software stacks for Level 4 autonomous driving powered by data-centric artificial intelligence. The software is available via Autoware, an open-source platform, and is designed to be hardware-agnostic, supporting various system-on-chip (SoC) and sensor configurations.

The software stacks are built on an end-to-end (E2E) architecture and offer two primary configurations to allow adaptability across diverse driving environments:

• Hybrid System: Utilises perception and planning AI. It employs diffusion models to capture temporal changes in surroundings and generates trajectories by combining machine learning models with environment perception.
• E2E System: Integrates perception, planning, and control into a single learning process. It uses world models to treat surroundings and driving status as vector representations, creating a pipeline from recognition to vehicle operation.

Automakers can use TIER IV’s machine learning operations (MLOps) platform to iterate AI models. The platform manages data-quality validation, anonymisation and tagging, while generating synthetic and real-world datasets for system evaluation.

TIER IV has commenced 60-minute test runs in three global hubs to validate the technology under distinct traffic conditions:

• Tokyo: Collaborating with the University of Tokyo using a Toyota JPN TAXI to evaluate urban hub-to-hub travel.
• Pittsburgh: Partnering with Carnegie Mellon University using a Hyundai IONIQ 5 for robotaxi tests between Pittsburgh International Airport and the university.
• Munich: Working with the Technical University of Munich using a Volkswagen T7 Multivan for safety evaluations in European urban scenarios.

While safety drivers remain on board to comply with local regulations, no manual intervention is expected during normal operation.

Shinpei Kato, Founder and CEO, TIER IV, said, “To achieve Level 4+ autonomy, we need technology that evolves autonomously alongside the environments it serves. Our new data-centric AI models and collaborative MLOps platform provide a common language and a shared foundation for the entire industry. By working with research institutions, industry leaders and the development community to advance autonomous driving technology through Autoware, we are creating an open, transparent environment that fosters continuous, collective innovation for the benefit of society.”

Yang Zhang, Chairman, Autoware Foundation’s Board of Directors, said, “Autoware serves as the global foundation where researchers, corporations and developers collaborate to advance autonomous driving software. Our collaboration with TIER IV strengthens the international framework for validating and refining E2E autonomous driving through real-world deployment. By testing across three continents, we are driving standards-based innovation and expanding an open ecosystem that lowers the barrier for a diverse range of partners to join and contribute.”

Yutaka Matsuo, Professor at the University of Tokyo, added, “The release of these software stacks and MLOps platform is a vital step toward deploying advanced AI models in industrial applications. By accumulating data from Japan’s distinctive traffic environments through our Tokyo testing and contributing those insights back to Autoware, we aim to further bridge the gap between academic research and real-world deployment.”

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