An artificial intelligence (AI)-based autonomous electric vehicle and an AI reception robot, developed by students of the Institute of Engineering and Technology, Srinivas University, Mukka, were demonstrated on the campus on Thursday.
A release here said the retrofitted electric vehicle developed by the students integrates light detection and ranging (LiDAR), AI-based vision, GPS navigation and an AI assistant. The vehicle currently operates autonomously along a predefined route and includes a remote-controlled override facility for enhanced safety and operational flexibility. Research is currently under way to enable fully autonomous navigation in previously unmapped environments.
The self-driven autonomous vehicle has a six-seater capacity and has been modified to carry patients guided through an ambulance re-routing app. Equipped with a 5 kW lithium-ion battery with a 1.5-hour backup, the vehicle can travel 20 km on a single charge. The maximum speed in manual mode is about 28 kmph, while in autonomous mode it is 5 kmph.
The six-seater EV, modified to transport patients, runs 20 km on a single charge and has a top speed of 28 kmph in manual mode and 5 kmph in autonomous mode. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Professor Vishwas C. Shetty was the guide, while research associate Vishak Mendon was the technical lead for the student team comprising Shreyas, Adwitiya, Ujjwal, Akshay, Manjunath, and Prakhyath.
The students also demonstrated ‘SRINIBOT’ is an AI-powered reception robot developed for the university to modernise visitor engagement and enhance the overall campus experience. The robot serves as a smart digital receptionist capable of welcoming visitors, answering queries, providing university information, and assisting students, parents, faculty members, and guests through natural voice interaction. By integrating AI, computer vision and human-robot interaction technologies, SRINIBOT reflects the university’s commitment to innovation, research, and next-generation automation, the release said.
The robot has an 11.6-inch interactive touch display for information and user interaction. Face detection and face recognition are done using an integrated camera. Natural voice conversation enables intuitive human-robot interaction. Multilingual communication helps assist diverse visitors.
The project was guided by Akhil K.P. and coordinated and executed by research associates Niketh Jadav, Joyal Jose and Samarth Naganur.
Published - July 23, 2026 07:15 pm IST