Engineers at NED University of Engineering and Technology have successfully conducted a test drive of Pakistan’s first driverless car, developed using artificial intelligence. The autonomous vehicle smoothly navigated the campus roads, impressing faculty and students alike.
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The project, led by the National Center for Artificial Intelligence within NED’s Department of Computer and Information Sciences, began a year ago. A China-imported electric vehicle was converted into a driverless car through a combination of AI algorithms, robotics, sensors, computer vision, and mapping technologies.
Dr. Muhammad Khurram, Director of the National Center for Artificial Intelligence, said the team had now brought the project to operational maturity. “We are currently conducting trials and road tests. After achieving steering control, we are now focusing on object detection, lane recognition, speed limit detection, and signal light recognition, all of which are critical for fully autonomous driving,” he explained.
The car currently runs at a speed of 15–20 km/h, with an autonomous system capable of making turns and evaluating oncoming traffic. Team member Inzimam Khan added, “This is among the few vehicles globally capable of handling Pakistan’s complex urban traffic environment, thanks to our advanced sensor technology.”
The project began under former NED Vice-Chancellor Prof. Dr. Sarosh Hashmat Lodhi and has reached a key milestone under current Vice-Chancellor Prof. Dr. Tufail Ahmed, showcasing Pakistan’s growing capabilities in AI-driven automotive technology.
