Arpit has been instrumental in setting up and leading data science ecosystem for shared mobility and Fashion Retail brands in India and abroad.

With computer vision gaining momentum in the driverless car segment, majority of automobile giants have invested in their R&D. What is the scenario for self- drive cars in India?
Computer vision is only beginning to gain traction in India, especially in the self-drive and car rental category. In order to maintain the economic viability of selfdrive cars, reducing accidents and damage occurrences is the key. This is where computer vision comes handy and zoomcar is running large scale experiments for its implementation. The applications in this area include collision detection, tracking driver behaviour, speed correction as per speed limits, assisted actions in case of bad weather and sending alerts in case of major accidents. All Zoomcar’s are IOT enabled and most have AI powered dashboard cameras integrated in them. These help us gauge the optimum health of the vehicle and delve deeper in the segment to confront various challenges in the self-drive and driver safety category.

What drove the industry to start evaluating an AI-based solution? What was the current driving patterns and gravity of the problem?
Necessity is the mother of all inventions. For us, the necessity is to maintain good health of our cars and ensure customer safety. Given the current wave of digitalisation sweeping across the nation, a lot of data regarding the working of vehicles is easily available. However, to process this data, we require an advanced AI-powered engine. This is also called upon because a majority of driver evaluation systems try to ape the West. However,

given such a clear distinction in the driving styles and conditions, systems of the West is not applicable in India. Thus, riding on the back of superior technology made available in India, we see some futuristic players in India venture in the field of creating AI-based solutions.

Tell us about the technology behind the approach.
Fundamentally, two technologies have laid the groundwork for this approach. First is the Internet of Moving Things (IoMT), which makes it easier for companies like us to collect data about the vehicles movements and whereabouts in real-time. Second technology, of course, is AI powered dashboard cameras, which makes it easier for us to process real time driving behaviour and reveal actionable insights. When this advancement is coupled with OTA updates and notifications, we are looking at an integrated and seamless infrastructure.