Tata Motors European Technical Centre Demonstrates Latest Mobility Technology on the Tata HEXA

A three-year project into the trials of connected and autonomous vehicle technology has drawn to a close, with the Coventry-based, Tata Motors European Technical Centre (TMETC) revealing its commitment to shaping the future of mobility.

As the UK centre of excellence in design and engineering for the Tata Motors Passenger Vehicle business in India, TMETC plans to focus its learning and future developments on controlled road environments. TMETC participated in the UK Autodrive project, co-funded by Innovate UK, the UK's innovation agency, which brought together 15 partners including OEMs, cutting edge engineering businesses, academia and progressive councils to explore the impact of ACES (Autonomous, Connected, Electric and Shared) technology, in a safe and controlled setting.

As part of the project, TMETC has successfully completed test trials on the new generation SUV, the Tata Hexa. The HEXA lends spacious interior and provides ample room to accommodate the necessary driving hardware, visitors and engineers in comfort.

According to Rajendra Petkar, Chief Technology Officer, Tata Motors, “At Engineering Research Centre (ERC) we have been actively undertaking R&D work on advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) as well as full vehicle autonomy in order to be future ready. Road congestion, air pollution and road safety, are acute concerns in India. We are likely to embrace connected, electric and shared technology sooner and therefore it is essential we remain at the forefront of these developments. Autonomy will be a consideration for the future in India. As the UK has already published a code of practice for testing autonomous vehicles safely and legally, it provides the ideal platform to enable us to challenge our self-driving vehicle capabilities. With the support of our much talented team at TMETC, I am delighted to share that the trials done on the HEXA have yielded immensely rewarding insights for us. Going forward, we plan to introduce number of ADAS functionalities in a structured & phased manner. ”

David Hudson, Head of Propulsion, TMETC, said: “This has been a challenging project but has enabled us to safely test our technologies on public roads in a real-world environment. We have to understand the challenging road usage pattern in India and apply that knowledge to this project. Our connectivity vehicle experience has enabled us to safely test and demonstrate numerous features including GLOSA (Green Light Optimal Speed Advisory) and EEBL (Electronic Emergency Brake Light). It has also demonstrated how vehicles and infrastructure will work in tandem for a motoring network in the future. We are pleased by the end of this project we have achieved an appropriate level of self-driving capability to allow us to move forward with our next steps in the mobility revolution.”

Tata Motors European Technical Centre (TMETC) is a subsidiary of Tata Motors, created as a UK-based centre of excellence for automotive design and engineering located at the University of Warwick. TMETC provides research and development principally for Tata Motors.