ZF Commercial Vehicle, IIT Madras join hands to build global mobility digital infrastructure

New Delhi: ZF Commercial Vehicle Control Systems India on Friday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras, focusing on the 'Mobility and Intelligent Transportation' (MInT), which has a goal of building the Bharat Multi-Modal Mobility Stack (BM3S).

The BM3S is a first-of-its-kind global digital infrastructure platform for sustainable and intelligent transportation.

"This collaboration with IITM is a definitive step towards addressing the challenges of modern mobility. BM3S has the potential to revolutionise how we approach transportation, in India and the world," P. Kaniappan, MD, ZF Commercial Vehicle, said in a statement.

According to the company, with a focus on safety, sustainability, and equity, BM3S will pave the way for significant advancements in electric vehicles (EVs), autonomous driving, and intelligent transportation systems.

It aims to seamlessly integrate data streams, payment systems, vehicle technologies, and digital twin models.

"We have multiple centres working in the area of mobility and digital technologies. The MInT collaborative and this partnership with ZF, a global leader in mobility products and solutions, will help accelerate mobility research to practice," said Prof. Manu Santhanam, Dean of Industrial Consulting and Sponsored Research, IIT Madras.

In addition, the company mentioned that this partnership aims to co-create a digital platform that will drive the development of holistic system solutions aligned with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).