How ADAS is making it’s way into the Indian Automotive market
Present adaption of ADAS technologies in Indian automobiles:
The present penetration of ADAS in India is significantly lower than European countries. This low penetration, as highlighted by a survey of 4500 buyers by McKinsey, is not due to cost sensitivity but rather due to the lack of awareness among the buyers, about ADAS technologies and their impact on the safety. As per this survey, most of the buyers were unaware of ADAS features. The study also highlights that the re-purchase rates were as high as 87-89% for buyers who bought a vehicle with ADAS features.
While in India, quite a few manufacturers are providing some stand-alone ADAS features in their cars, MG Motors’ Gloster is India’s first Level 1 ADAS compatible automobile. MG Gloster is packed with features like adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking, automatic parking assist, blind spot detection, forward collision warning and lane departure warning. As Indian automotive market is very competitive and Gloster being the first car in the segment having these features, other carmakers are expected to up their ante quickly.
Mahindra&Mahindra launched XUV 700 which is also equipped with some ADAS features. In an interview, R. Velusamy who is chief of global product development, automotive sector at M&M said that most of the bookings for XUV 700 are accounted to the variant having ADAS features. Shaju S., GM and head to transportation business unit at Tata Elxsi in an interview mentioned that ADAS will be coming in a big way in India in next few years. ADAS is a necessity and no more a luxury, he mentioned.
The future of ADAS technologies in India
As we will see in the later part of this article, most of the manufacturers are already working on research and development and just waiting for the market to be ready. With Gloster breaking the ice, we expect other manufacturers to come out of the ‘watch’ mode and aggressively launch these features.
The changing mindset of Indian consumers – from economy to safety and features, will drive the biggest tide of ADAS adoption in India. Another major push will come from the regulators. At the SIAM conference, the Union Minister for Road and Highway Transport mentioned that the ministry is working towards introducing a mandate which will bring Advanced Driver Assist Systems (ADAS) in all cars by 2022. If this statement is implemented even partially, it will need an aggressive roadmap from the manufacturers to introduce ADAS features.
Another roadblock in India regarding introduction of ADAS features is inpoor infra, especially outside of the cities, across the highways.
ADAS in India: Current developments and research activities
In spite of a few bottlenecks, as seen earlier, the pull from consumer side and the push from car makers as well as policy makers are indicating faster ADAS implementation in India. As mentioned earlier, a large number of manufacturers in India, both global as well as Indian have already started their plans for introducing ADAS technologies. For instance, a Korean company, Mando Corp is working with Mahindra & Mahindra for the supplies of ADAS technologies which include radar and front camera for autonomous emergency braking.
As per the Prescient and Strategic Intelligence report, following technologies will see increasing penetration in the Indian automotive market and by 2030, they will be fully in place:
- Tire-Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS)
- Drowsiness Monitoring System (DMS)
- Parking Assist System
- Adaptive Cruise Control System (ACCS)
- Blind Spot Detection System (BSDS)
- Lane Departure Warning System (LDWS)
Research and development work related to ADAS technologies in India:
Following are some of the R&D activities which different vehicle makers in India are carrying out in the ADAS area :
Tata Motors : The Indian manufacturer of PVs as well as CVs has already made quite a few inroads when it comes to ADAS. PRIMA and SIGMA, two truck models from Tata Motors are equipped with ADAS features. Deployed in collaboration with WABCO, this move makes Tata Motors the first OEM to provide a host of specific safety technologies like Electronic Stability Control (ESC), Automatic Traction Control (ATC), Hill Start Aid (HSA), a Collision Mitigation System (CMS) and a Lane Departure Warning System (LDWS), which work together to ensure the safety of the occupants. Tata Motors European Technical Centre (TMETC) is working on E-Future project which has enabled the development of ADAS capabilities like adaptive cruise control, autonomous emergency braking, lane departure warning, pedestrian detection, etc.
Maruti Suzuki : India’s largest carmaker, MSIL is in process of evaluating ADAS technology like forward collision warning, driver monitoring system, lane departure warning for Indian scenarios. These features are available in Suzuki vehicles. The company is currently working on L1 and L2 features.
Mahindra & Mahindra : As we have seen earlier in this article, Korean manufacturer Mando Corp has already won an order to supply ADAS equipment, which includes radar and front camera for AEB to M&M. XUV500, Mahindra’s celebrated SUV, is due for an overhaul and internet is full of anticipations that the 2021 edition of XUV500 will be loaded with ADAS Level -1 features. This is highly possible as with the launch of Gloster, MG Motors has already introduced Level-1 ADAS in this segment. Mahindra has also shown the semi-autonomous capabilities in its tractors and is working towards fully autonomous tractors.
Apart from the Indian vehicle makers, the Multinational manufacturers work on ADAS at their Global Technical Centres in India for the Indian as well as global markets. Also leading Indian Engineering Services Provider companies in India are also engaged in Global ADAS projects at their development centers in India. Here are some key examples:
Mercedes Benz: ADAS is one of the focus areas at Mercedes-Benz Research & Development India, situated in Bangalore. Based on the information available under the public domain, this entity is working on use of computer aided simulations for ADAS technology development.
Tata Elxsi: The automotive division of Tata Elxsi has multiple ADAS related projects on its radar. One such project is the ECU consolidation project which will enable sharing of resources for implementing multiple connected car and ADAS features. The e-cockpit project is aimed at integrating instrument cluster, heads-up display and ADAS features. Elxsi is also working on design, development, and optimisation of ADAS frameworks across multiple platforms. Another key offering from Elxsi is ready to deploy ADAS algorithms, HILS simulation, and vehicle level V2X testing frameworks. 360-degree surround view system, rear view assistance system, camera monitoring, AI powered advanced DMS solution for detecting eye gaze, head pose, drowsiness and eye closure are some other ADAS related projects on which Elxsi is working.
Hyundai Mobis: Located in Hyderabad, Hyundai Mobis is developing and verifying software for autonomous driving sensors (RADAR, LiDAR, Camera, etc.) and control logic. The organisation is also working on verifying AI/Deep Learning based sensor signal and image processing algorithm & software, and control logic for Level-2 autonomous driving. Another project in the portfolio is automation tools for driving and parking control logic verification, sensor data logging and analysis. Recently, Hyundai Mobis and IIT Hyderabad joined hands to develop hardware prototypes based on mathematical modeling and machine learning.
KPIT : When it comes to ADAS, Pune based KPIT has already accomplished quite a few breakthroughs. BMW has chosen KPIT as its partner for the software development for autonomous driving. KPIT offers a wide number of solutions for ADAS which broadly fall under feature development, big data engineering and analytics and virtual simulation and validation. Some of the solutions are multi sensor (LIDAR + camera) labeling, 2D and 3D labeling, feature validation through scenario modeling, virtual simulation using synthetic data, and data analytics.
Continental AG : The German Tier 1 has one of the largest technology centres in Bangalore, India. This centre is working on developing microphone-based contact sensor system (CoSSy). This system will assist drivers during low-speed maneuvers and bring the vehicle to an emergency stop by detecting a low-speed contact between the vehicle and a person or object. The system is capable of scanning objects that lie outside the short-range detection cone of the existing ultrasonic sensors to assist the driver during reverse parking. For ADAS features as well as autonomous vehicles, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication will become a basic norm for the vehicles of the future – which will be equipped with multiple sensors, cameras, a radar and lidar – all working in real-time and also correlating with the road data available on the cloud. The Technical Centre India is a major contributor to the development of this technology which will be deployed globally.
Veoneer: Stockholm based Veoneer designs, develops, manufactures and
sells state-of-the-art software, hardware and systems for active safety, autonomous driving, occupant protection and brake control. Located in Bangalore, Veoneer India has a separate department for ADAS which is working on developing software and algorithms for camera vision and LIDAR.
Harman India: ADAS has been a core solution offered by Harman under its connected cars vertical. Harman R&D works on a wide range of ADAS solutions like AR platform for intuitive driving, augmented surround view, LIDAR, driver and occupant monitoring system pre-integrated ADAS etc.
Wabco India: Located at Chennai India, Wabco’s research and development team is working on launching ADAS and safety systems for trucks, buses, trailers and off-highway vehicles.
Bosch India : Bosch India has been working closely with MG Motors on ADAS capabilities in the recently launched MG Astor.
Start-up ecosystem in India relating to ADAS
A considerable number of startups in India are working towards developing ADAS technologies.
Gurgaon-based The Hi-Tech Robotic Systemz (THRSL), is one such startup making headway in the ADAS market and is ingeniously developing solutions aimed at catering to upcoming needs of the auto industry. The company currently has long-term agreements with multiple OEMs for developing Advanced Driver Assist Systems (ADAS) and autonomous driver software and hardware systems. THRSL is aiming at catering to the entire spectrum of autonomy, which will include not only expertise on driver assistance systems, but also the incremental value addition towards building a safe ecosystem for autonomous driving.
Minus Zero is a Punjab based start-up working towards developing level 5 autonomous vehicles and and already has quite a few patented technologies to its credit. It is working in collaboration with an Indian OEM to develop autonomous vehicles suitable for Indian roads.
Bangalore based Flux Auto is working on developing a fully autonomous solution for the trucking industry.
Bhopal based Swayatt Robots is developing level 5 connected autonomous driving technology.
Bangalore based Ati Motors has already developed autonomous technology for material movement in the industrial environment.
Another start-up, Kritikal is also working towards developing solutions aimed at improving road safety and is already working with a few clients. Kritikal has an expertise in computer vision, image processing, data capturing and labelling, object detection and tracking, embedded software and hardware design.
Autodrive Technologies is another start-up which facilitates adaption of ADAS technologies in entry level vehicles by providing its engineering and prototyping platforms to OEMs and ADAS developers.
Well, as one can make out, ADAS rollout in India is going to be a highly exciting journey which has started unwinding now. For the ADAS technology suppliers, plethora of opportunities exist in the Indian market.
Quanzen and ADAS Market Support
Our professionals with over 25 years’ experience in Indian market have supported a number of international suppliers in Indian market in the area of Automotive Safety & ADAS.
ADAS is comparatively new in Indian market and we are specialists in technical sales of products & solutions “New to Market” in India. Our deep understanding of the market and wide network with OEMs & Tier-1 companies helps us in supporting the international components, software & systems supplier companies in ADAS for the complete Sales Cycle from Market Assessment, Entry, Prospecting, Selling & Customer Support.
If you are interested to talk to us about India market opportunity for ADAS and how we can help you enter this market and succeed here, do write to me atsudhir.nerurkar@quanzen.com
