KARACHI: Engineers at the NED University of Engineering and Technology have successfully conducted a test drive of Pakistan’s driverless vehicle equipped with Artificial Intelligence (AI). This historic accomplishment represents a breakthrough in the nation’s technological progress.
The autonomous vehicle, trialed on the roads within NED University’s campus, amazed with its seamless functioning and precision. The initiative, launched than a year ago was created by the National Center for Artificial Intelligence (NCAI) within the university’s Computer Information Science department.
The automobile is constructed with an imported vehicle from China featuring cutting-edge technologies such as AI, robotics, mapping and sensor/vision systems. These technologies work together to produce an autonomous vehicle that can function without any human control.
Dr. Mohammad Khurram, the project head and director of NCAI stated during the test drive that the initiative achieved maturity following a year of development. “Currently, we have begun trialing the vehicle on roads. We have incorporated radar technology and computer vision to enhance its functions, ” Dr. Khurram conveyed to Express.
The vehicles present functionalities encompass steering management object identification, lane detection, speed limit recognition and traffic light detection. The team is actively refining these components to develop an autonomous driving system. Currently, the car’s speed is regulated by an algorithm set within the range of 15 to 20 km/h with turning mode and evaluation, for traffic established.
A significant difficulty encountered by this vehicle is the disorderly and unregulated traffic conditions in the cities of Pakistan. “This vehicle is, among the ones globally undergoing trials in such a challenging and erratic environment” stated Inzamam Khan, part of the team. “Our sensor system is exceptionally robust which is why we are confident this vehicle can maneuver through the intricacies of city settings.”
It was when Professor Dr. Soroush Hashmat Lodhi, NED’s Vice-Chancellor, was in office that the project was initiated and it has recently been taken to a level of accomplishment under the supervision of the current Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dr. Tufail Ahmed. The achievement of NED University goes to show that it is an institution leading the way in the promotion of innovation and technological advancement in Pakistan.
The first successful trial run of this driverless car is a loud and clear announcement of a brand new era filled with limitless possibilities for the tech industry of Pakistan. The country is getting closer to being one of the first to join the worldwide trend of autonomous vehicles with this step. It is anticipated that such a revolutionary innovation will first of all, lead to the modernization of transport systems, then make roads safer, and later, solve the problem of heavy traffic.
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