The news of Uber trying to develop 5th-level automated vehicles in the USA has been making its rounds for quite some time. To rival Uber in the world of tech while also catering to the specific needs of the Indian streets and the Indian consumers, Ola has now reportedly started working on developing Assisted Driving Tech for its cabs.
Although Ola has denied the report of trying to develop new Assisted Driving Tech, numerous sources suggest that Ola has hired experts in autonomous vehicle tech to expand the features of its Ola Play program. The latest features will be add-ons to Ola’s pre-existing Play program. The initial features included touch screens in the passenger area that would allow riders to play movies and music. The new features will ensure passenger safety, apart from entertaining them. These will include an alarm that will sound during a collision, pedestrian warnings, an over-speeding indicator, and break-assistive systems.
Ola Cabs, an online cab aggregator founded by Bhavish Aggarwal, began its journey on 3rd December 2010. Initially based in Mumbai, the company has now shifted to Bangalore and, according to estimates, an approximately $7 billion company, with funding from companies like DiDi and Softbank.
Ola’s advances in the world of tech may not sound as ambitious as the ones being made by Uber, but it is most ideally suited to the needs of the Indian streets. It may take some time for India’s congested and non-standard roads to become ideal for automated vehicles. Dr. Roshy John, who built his own automated car, and is an expert in the field of transport automatons, has said that it may take at least a decade for driverless cars to reach India. As such, Ola’s attempt to compete with Uber so far as the latest technologies are concerned shall be most effectively realized in their aim to develop Assisted Driving Tech.
