New Delhi: IIT Bombay Racing Team showcased India’s first driverless Formula Student car at Formula Bharat 2026, marking a major milestone in the country’s student-led autonomous vehicle development.
The team also secured third place overall in the competition and finished first in the static events category, reflecting strong performance in engineering design and technical evaluation.
Officials said the unveiling of the driverless car represents a significant step forward for autonomous mobility within India’s student engineering ecosystem. The team presented the vehicle alongside the competition, offering participants, judges, and industry experts an opportunity to observe the technology firsthand, IIT Bombay said in a post on X.
Formula Bharat is India’s premier Formula Student event, where engineering teams design, build, and validate formula-style race cars. While teams typically compete in defined categories, IIT Bombay Racing introduced its autonomous platform as an independent showcase.
The team said the driverless vehicle integrates advanced perception, localisation, and control systems developed entirely by students. It added that the project involved months of interdisciplinary collaboration, testing, and engineering refinement.
Faculty advisor Archak Mittal guided the team through the project, while the institute, IIT Bombay, and industry partners supported the initiative.
Officials said the achievement sets a new benchmark for student innovation in India and contributes to the growing focus on autonomous vehicle research and development. The team added that it will continue to work on advancing motorsport engineering and autonomous mobility technologies.
