Meet zPod, India's 'first autonomous car' developed by Bengaluru startup Minus Zero

The vehicle does not have a steering wheel. Instead, it navigates through traffic with the help of strategically-placed high-resolution cameras.

Minus Zero, a Bengaluru-based artificial intelligence (AI) startup, has unveiled zPod, which it says is the country's first self-driving car.

Minus Zero's zPod autonomus car (Image courtesy: Minus Zero)

“With true vision autonomy coming to the fore, one can make autonomous vehicles a reality, solving major pain points of the mobility paradigm,” said CEO Gagandeep Reehal at Sunday's reveal.

Reehal, who founded Minus Zero in 2021, doing so with Gursimran Kalra, was speaking to HT Auto.

Here is all you need to know about Minus Zero's zPod:

(1.) Arguably the most unique highlight of the 4-wheeler is that it does not have a steering wheel. Instead, strategically-placed high-resolution cameras help it analyse driving conditions, including traffic.

(2.) A camera-sensor suite captures the vehicle's surroundings, which it shares with the embedded AI system. The AI, in turn, processes the information through images to help zPod avoid obstacles, control its speed, and stop.

(3.) Minus Zero claims that zPod can be scaled up to ‘Level 5’ autonomy, the highest for a self-driving car. This level of autonomy means that the vehicle does not need human intervention to operate.

(4.) As of now, zPod is ‘good enough’ to be used within an enclosed and controlled area such as a campus or large residential complexes, Minus Zero said.