Omega Seiki Mobility Launches India’s First Autonomous Three-Wheeler

Autonomous Driving – one of the key global mobility megatrends, gets into the driver’s seat of three-wheelers. Omega Seiki Mobility (OSM), maker of electric three-wheelers, stakes claim of being India’s first to develop an autonomous auto-rickshaw, which it has named Swayamgati.   

“With the Swayamgati, we are also showcasing India’s capability in developing clean, connected, and intelligent mobility solutions,” Uday Narang, Founder-Chairman, Omega Seiki Mobility tells ACKO Drive. The autonomous three-wheeled passenger carrier is based on OSM’s EV platform, and developed in partnership with a Bengaluru based start-up which specialises in autonomous driving technology.

According to OSM, Swayamgati is the first three-wheeler to apply the start-up’s autonomous tech. There were challenges in the process though. Vivek Dhawan, OSM’s Chief Strategy Officer says the main challenge was to convert the mechanical, manually operated features of accelerating, steering, braking, to an electronic drive-by-wire system.

The key components in Swayamgati’s tech stack are Lidar, smart sensors, cameras, GPS, and a remote kill switch. Starting with carrying passengers, OSM plans to ferry cargo too using autonomous vehicles. Narang says the autonomous tech will be expanded to OSM’s three- and four-wheeler cargo carriers in a year or so.

The autonomous three-wheeler is designed mainly for large industrial, and educational campuses, airports, and smart city hubs. It was conceptualised two years ago, and was under development for the past year or so, according to Narang. The Swayamgati is claimed to have cleared all tests, and can travel at speeds of up to 12kmph, with obstacle detection capacity of up to 6 metres. Its range is claimed to be 120km per full charge. About $1.5 million is said to have been invested for the Swayamgati project.

Premium for Advanced Technology

Technology comes at a cost, and the passenger version of the Swayamgati will cost ₹4 lakhs while the cargo version, launching soon, will be priced at ₹4.15 lakh. The two variants are ₹75,000 to ₹1,00,000 pricier than OSM’s regular electric three-wheeler, though the EV maker plans to bring this difference down to around ₹50,000 in a year or so. OSM argues that the premium can be recovered within 3-5 months of the three-wheeler’s operations, considering the savings in terms of salary for a human driver. 

Bookings have opened today, and OSM hopes to have 1,500 units deployed for short-distance use within two years. The company is targeting routes in specific locations such as airports, campuses, industrial parks, and gated communities, across dense metropolises, Tier II-III cities, and towns.  

Eyeing Global Markets, New Tech   

Along with the advanced navigation tech of autonomous driving, OSM is also developing three-wheelers with hydrogen fuel cell technology. Being developed in Europe, its commercial launch of the first hydrogen tech powered OSM product may be still some time away.

OSM, which will set its first overseas assembly plant in Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza) with a $25 million investment over 5 years, also lines up a satellite plant in Nigeria to serve the African markets. According to Narang, these hubs will be for both two- and three-wheelers.

But for now, his focus is to prove that if Waymo can do it (autonomous driving vehicles) in the USA, so can OSM in India.