DRAFT #2: PRODUCT SUMMARY AND ANALYSIS

‘Autonomai’ is a state-of-the-art automobile middleware platform developed by Tata Elxsi as per its website ” https://www.tataelxsi.com/ip-solution/automotive/Autonomai.html” (n.d.). It was invented to help original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and system suppliers manufacture and analyse the applications in their vehicles. It administers a comprehensive solution encompassing Perception, a Guidance, Navigation and Control system (GNC) and Drive-by-wire systems. ‘Autonomai’ is essential for the future of autonomous vehicles with its support of sensor fusion, use of artificial intelligence (AI) and ever adapting formulas.

 The perception system scans the immediate surroundings and uses its algorithms to take note regarding the traffic details at that moment. Based on this data provided by the perception system, the GNC will make choices to prepare and command the self-driving vehicle. According to the article, some fundamental aspects of ‘Autonomai’ include “modular architecture" and the “plug and play architecture”(“Autonomai,” n.d., para. 7). It has a group of sensors built according to the request and specifications of each consumer. Via this platform, Tata Elxsi has taken a step in the advancement of technology in the autonomous vehicle sector, however it does not provide further details as to who it has sold this platform to and when the general public can get to test this technology for themselves.

Over the past couple of decades, the acceleration of the rate of growth of technology has been simply staggering. Self-driving cars were once a glimpse into the future, but now it is a reality. To be unbiased is to accept the fact that the initial prototypes were rather underwhelming, they were rather incident prone and not reliable. It had been this way for a while with many companies trying their best to come up with a solution to make autonomous vehicles a norm. However, back in 2013, Tata Elxsi came up with a ground-breaking solution which was to be ‘Autonomai’.  It’s function and practicality were useful for OEMs and system suppliers.

One of the reasons as to why ‘Autonomai’ was a cut above the rest was the addition of the advanced perception system. These perception system scans the immediate surroundings and uses its algorithms to take note regarding the traffic details at that moment. Some of these sensors as stated by the article are “long range radars, lidars, stereo cameras, monocular cameras and ultrasonic sensors”, afterwards the data accumulated by these sensors are then processed using “sophisticated artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning-based algorithms” as per the article”(“Autonomai,” n.d., para. 3).

Another reason that truly makes ‘Autonomai’ unrivalled is its GNC system. Based on the data provided by the perception system, the GNC system will make choices to prepare and command the self-driving vehicle to ensure safe passage. With the usage of these sensors and the additional boost of AI, Tata Elxsi have taken the first step into significantly improving autonomous vehicles as we know it. Hence, the true challenge now for Tata Elxsi is to prove to the big companies such as General Motors that its middleware platform is one of a kind and is the solution that the autonomous vehicle industry has been craving for.

In comparison, competitors such as Mentor, which is run as a subsidiary by Siemens, do not have the same level of perception system or GNC that Tata Elxsi offers. According to the article on Mentor’s website, “And our approach will accelerate progress toward Level 4/5 autonomous vehicles.’, which proves that they are still approaching a level 4 or 5 status for autonomous vehicles. However, according to PR Newswire’s article, Tata Elxsi already has a level 5 certification. Hence, proving that ‘Autonomai’ is a leader in its industry.

In conclusion, Tata Elxsi’s ‘Autonomai’ has made waves across the industry and is truly at the pedestal for making self-driving vehicles a norm in our society.

Mentor. (n.d.) Autonomous. Autonomous driving and driver assist solutions. Retrieved from https://www.mentor.com/mentor-automotive/autonomous/ [Accessed on 29^th September 2019]

PR Newswire. (2017). Tata Elxsi's 'AUTONOMAI' Driverless Car Platform Selected by Leading OEM. Retrieved from https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/tata-elxsis-autonomai-driverless-car-platform-selected-by-leading-oem-626401521.html [Accessed on 29^th September 2019]

Tata Elxsi. (n.d.). Autonomai. Retrieved from https://www.tataelxsi.com/ip-solution/automotive/Autonomai.html [Accessed on 22^nd  September 2019]