Pakistan unveils first AI-powered driverless car at NED University

KARACHI: NED University of Engineering and Technology has successfully tested Pakistan’s first Artificial Intelligence-powered driverless car, marking a significant milestone in the country’s technology sector.

The autonomous vehicle, a project initiated nearly a year ago under the National Center for Artificial Intelligence (NCAI) at the university, recently underwent successful road testing on campus. Operating smoothly without a human driver, the trial garnered significant interest from both students and faculty.

The prototype is built upon an electric car imported from China, which was converted into a fully autonomous system through the integration of advanced robotics, mapping technology, LIDAR sensors, and sophisticated computer vision algorithms.

After a year of dedicated research and development, the project has now transitioned into its practical phase. The project team reports that the car’s steering mechanism incorporates radar technology and computer vision to navigate its surroundings.

Currently, the vehicle’s speed has been restricted to between 15 and 20 kilometers per hour for safety reasons.

According to NED researchers, the vehicle is specifically engineered for Pakistan’s challenging urban traffic conditions. Its advanced sensor system allows it to effectively navigate local infrastructure issues, including potholes and uneven road surfaces.

Ongoing efforts are now focused on refining key capabilities, including object detection, lane recognition, speed control, and traffic signal identification.