IIT Delhi, IIT Bombay and Honda team up to advance cooperative intelligence

NEW DELHI: Honda Cars India Limited (HCIL) has partnered with Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi and IIT Bombay to advance its Cooperative Intelligence (Honda CI), an AI system designed to foster better collaboration between machines and people by interpreting environmental context, scenes, and human intentions to enable cooperative actions and communication.

As stated in the official press release, through collaborative research with the IITs, Honda aims to advance the core technologies of Cooperative Intelligence (CI), with a focus on future applications such as reducing traffic collisions and enabling automated driving.

Aims for collision-free mobility

Honda aims to make mobility for people and goods seamless, collision-free, and stress-free, allowing travel anytime, anywhere, to any destination. The company is currently demonstrating its CI-powered micro-mobility vehicle, robot as a proof of concept in Joso City, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan.

Collaborative research themes on environmental recognition, cooperative behavior

To further advance Cooperative Intelligence (CI), Honda and the IITs have established joint research themes focused on environmental recognition and fostering cooperative behavior. They will collaborate on research and development, leveraging advanced AI technologies.

Honda associates and IIT professors will work closely with IIT students on each research theme, involving them in the planning, designing, development, and testing of technologies that extend beyond laboratory settings. According to the official press release, this approach will allow for greater flexibility and freedom in the research process, fostering deeper collaboration between academic and industry insights.

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Testing CI technologies in Indian traffic environments

As part of this joint research, Honda, with support from the IITs, plans to test driving assistance and automated driving technologies in the suburbs of Delhi and Mumbai. India’s traffic environment, characterized by diverse road systems and a large number of road users, presents complexities that make frequent situations difficult for AI to predict. As stated in the official press release, By testing technologies in such a challenging environment, Honda and the IITs aim to refine the core CI technologies and apply them to future driver assistance and automated driving systems globally, including in India.

Preeti Ranjan Panda, dean, corporate relations, IIT Delhi, said, “The mobility industry is experiencing significant change, driven by a growing demand for sustainable and functional products powered by AI technologies that are shaping its future. This partnership aims to leverage IIT Delhi's advanced research and Honda’s expertise in practical applications to fast-track innovation and create solutions that benefit both customers and society across a wide range of applications.”