Sikka rides Infosys’ indigenous ‘driverless’ cart

Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka arrived in style at the company's media briefing in a 'driverless' cart, a vehicle that has been indigenously developed at its Mysore centre.

The homegrown tech giant's efforts in developing the autonomous vehicle, according to Sikka, is aimed at training employees on new emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence.

''An autonomous vehicle for me and Pravin (COO) built right in Mysore @Infosys Engg Services! Who says we can't build transformative technologies?'' read a tweet by Sikka.

These driverless vehicles are capable of sensing their environment and navigating without human help.

Advanced control systems help these vehicles identify navigation paths, as well as obstacles and road signage.

''I drove here to this venue in our own indigenously-built autonomous golf cart. This is a test bed that we have built to train thousands of engineers on autonomous driving technology as we renew our existing services on the basis of these dual forces of automation and innovation,'' Sikka said in the media briefing.

These initiatives demonstrate the company's focus on new areas of services and software, he said.

"The driverless car is kind of the technology we are strongly focused on. If you go by our numbers, about 10 per cent of our revenue has come from new technologies, services that did not exist two years ago. These are high growth services and that's where our focus will be," Sikka was reported saying.

"The driverless car shows we can be at the cutting edge of technologies," he added, stressing that Infosys aims to get back on the growth track, for which it would develop VR and driverless car technology for its clients like Toyota and Boeing.

While companies like Google and Uber have been experimenting with driverless vehicles for some time, Sikka said, Indian companies too have the technology and the capability for developing such vehicles. "Who says we can't build transformative technologies," Sikka tweeted.

Other Infosys employees also shared videos of the driverless golf cart on Twitter.

The autonomous vehicle, he said, is a symbol of cutting-edge technology and meant to train other employees on technologies like artificial intelligence.

Sikka said about 10 per cent of the company's revenues this quarter came from new services and software, which are high growth areas that Infosys is focusing on.

''The widespread adoption of our grassroots innovation and education initiatives continue to fuel our transformation, and I am proud to see Infoscions embrace and drive Infosys toward becoming a nextgeneration services company,'' Sikka was quoted as saying in the company's quarterly report.

In April, the company said, it launched Infosys Nia, building on and accelerating, work over the last 2-1/2 years to help clients embrace AI. With over 160 engagements across more than 70 clients, Nia continues to be central to all the company's conversations with clients as we work with them to transform their businesses.