Bengaluru Team Unveils the Nation’s First Driverless Car. Built for India. Built By India 

India’s journey toward autonomous mobility reached a defining milestone this week as Wipro, the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and RV College of Engineering jointly unveiled the nation’s first driverless car prototype, built and tested in Bengaluru. Developed under the Wipro–IISc Research and Innovation Network (WIRIN), a six-year industry–academia collaboration. The project marks India’s most advanced attempt yet to create an autonomous vehicle engineered specifically for Indian roads.

The prototype was presented on the RV College campus, where a demonstration run complete with dignitaries onboard that quickly went viral. It wasn’t just a test drive; it was a statement: India’s homegrown AI and robotics talent is ready to reimagine mobility for one of the world’s most complex traffic environments.

A Milestone Moment for Indian Mobility

Driverless cars are no longer science fiction. From San Francisco to Shanghai, autonomous prototypes are already sharing roads with humans. Yet for India, a country with unmarked lanes, mixed traffic and deeply unpredictable driving behavior this challenge is fundamentally different.

The WIRIN driverless car represents an attempt to bridge that gap. Instead of importing Western algorithms designed for structured highways, this car’s AI brain has been trained on Indian data, learning to navigate potholes, stray animals and everything in between. For Wipro and IISc, the project isn’t just about autonomy, it’s about localization.

Why India Needed Its Own Driverless Car ?

In countries like the US or Japan, autonomous vehicles rely on clean lane markings, uniform traffic laws and high-definition maps. But Indian roads don’t follow those rules. Here, road users behave as dynamic variables, not predictable entities.

A bus might swerve to avoid a cow. A biker might overtake from the sidewalk. Traffic lights can be suggestions, not commands. These conditions are what make the Indian market so difficult for global driverless systems. Algorithms trained in San Francisco would panic in Bengaluru. That’s why WIRIN’s goal wasn’t just to copy Tesla or Waymo, but to develop an AI that learns to coexist with India’s chaos.

The Collaboration: Wipro × IISc × RV College

The project stems from WIRIN, the Wipro, IISc Research and Innovation Network, launched in 2019 to create advanced solutions in AI, robotics and human–machine interaction. Each partner brought a distinct strength:

• Wipro contributed its experience in AI software, robotics and systems integration, ensuring commercial viability.
• IISc, one of India’s top research institutions, handled AI modeling, computer vision and data-driven decision frameworks.
• RV College of Engineering, the host institution for the prototype, focused on vehicle prototyping, electronics integration and on-ground testing.

After six years of iterative R&D, the collaboration produced India’s first autonomous mobility prototype capable of operating in real-world traffic conditions, at least in controlled environments for now.

Technology Under the Hood: Built for Indian Roads!

At the heart of this driverless car is a multi-layered AI perception and control system, optimized for India’s mixed traffic.

• AI-powered perception and decision-making: Using deep neural networks, the car can identify vehicles, pedestrians, animals and obstacles, predicting motion trajectories with microsecond precision.
• Computer vision and sensor fusion: Multiple cameras, LiDAR and radar sensors work in harmony to create a real-time, 360-degree map of the environment.
• V2X communication via 5G: The car uses Vehicle-to-Everything communication to interact with other vehicles, infrastructure and even mobile devices enabling coordinated decision-making.
• Localization and mapping: Unlike foreign AVs that depend on pre-marked digital maps, this system uses real-time adaptive mapping to manage uneven roads and ambiguous signage.
• Robotics-based motion planning: Borrowing from robotic arm path planning, the vehicle adjusts its trajectory dynamically to navigate tight lanes or unpredictable stops.

The stack was designed to “see, think, and act” the way Indian drivers do: intuitive, reactive and context-aware.

The Demo: A Viral Glimpse of the Future

The unveiling event at RV College was more than a quiet academic showcase. It became a social media moment. 

A short video clip of the driverless car gliding across campus, with a seer and dignitaries enjoying the ride went viral across platforms like X and Instagram. The car navigated a controlled loop without a driver behind the wheel, marking a symbolic first for India’s automotive landscape. While the run was limited to a private environment, it demonstrated real-time obstacle detection, path correction and braking which is a clear proof of concept. Public reaction was a mix of pride and curiosity. Some viewers celebrated it as a “Make in India” milestone; others questioned when such technology could realistically hit Indian roads.

Research Behind the Wheel of Driverless Car

Behind the viral moment lies years of deep R&D. The WIRIN consortium used simulation environments and real traffic datasets from Bengaluru and other Indian cities to train the vehicle’s AI. Researchers at IISc developed specialized models that don’t just detect objects, they infer human behavior. The AI can anticipate when a pedestrian might hesitate at a crossing or when a rickshaw might swerve unexpectedly.

RV College engineers, meanwhile, focused on hardware optimization, integrating sensor arrays, safety redundancies and control units. Wipro contributed its proprietary AI middleware that manages data fusion, motion planning and safety override protocols. The result is an intelligent mobility system that doesn’t just “follow the road”, it reads the road’s intent.

Road Ahead: Testing, Policy and Real-World Readiness

The prototype is a proof of possibility, not a production-ready vehicle. Wipro and IISc plan to extend testing through 2026, exploring closed-environment scenarios such as campuses, industrial zones and smart cities. To move beyond prototypes, India will need regulatory evolution. There is no existing framework for autonomous vehicle certification in India. Issues like liability, insurance and safety protocols must be addressed before driverless cars can legally operate on public roads.

However, experts see this as a positive inflection point. If India can standardize test frameworks, AV technology could soon serve specialized use cases, from delivery bots and security patrols to autonomous campus shuttles and industrial logistics.

The Future of Indian Autonomy

With the unveiling of this prototype, India’s autonomous journey has officially begun. The collaboration between Wipro, IISc and RV College shows what’s possible when industry and academia unite around a shared vision of mobility.

Beyond the technology, it represents something deeper, a cultural and scientific milestone that aligns with India’s broader innovation narrative: homegrown, human-centric and globally relevant. The road to fully autonomous cars in India will be long, but this unveiling marks a vital first step. From Bengaluru’s labs to India’s streets, the dream of an AI-powered, self-driving future no longer feels distant. It’s taking shape: built for India, by India.