Kharagpur, Oct 30 (IANS) With more than 90 per cent of innovation in the automotive domain currently happening in electronics and software, an Indo-German cooperation can create new technologies and solutions not only for India but also for the global market, an expert said on Monday.
"The focus of innovation today is on intelligent software for safety, driver assistance, comfort and entertainment. Combining the software and Artificial Intelligene (AI) expertise of India with the manufacturing leadership of Germany can bring about transformational benefits to both the countries," IIT Kharagpur's Dean of Sponsored Research and Industrial Consultancy Pallab Dasgupta said at a workshop here.
The two-day workshop that started on Monday has been organised by IIT Kharagpur and the Technical University of Munich (TUM) in the context of the newly-established Indo-German Collaborative Research Centre on Intelligent Transportation Systems -- a joint centre of the IIT and TUM located within the campus here.
Dasgupta said the mobility landscape in India is undergoing a rapid transformation.
"On one hand the existing modalities of transportation have their unique challenges and on the other hand it is great opportunities for both Indian and German industries and for them to work together.
"While German automotive technologies are a brand in itself, Indian software prowess is now also acknowledged all over the world. With more than 90 per cent of innovation in the automotive domain currently now being in electronics and software, an Indo-German cooperation can create new technologies and solutions not only for India but also for the global market.
"At this Center and with appropriate collaborations with industry partners in India and Germany, we are looking forward to shaping our research goals and schemes for long-term sustainability of the Center," he remarked.
This workshop, supported by the Indo-German Science and Technology Center (IGSTC) and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), has brought together various transportation experts from Indian and German academia and industry, as well as policy makers and law enforcement agencies.
They will discuss potential solutions in the domains of Intelligent Solutions for Transportation Integration, Technologies for Electric Vehicles and Batteries, and Systems and Software Challenges in next generation vehicular technologies.
"Future transportation solutions in India must be developed with a holistic view of the wide milieu of options available in Indian cities, and integrated end-to-end solutions will make public transport in India more reliable and comfortable, and reduce the dependency on private vehicles" opined Professor Samarjit Chakraborty of TUM.
