SAEINDIA International Mobility Conference

SAEINDIA, in association with SAE International, in February organized the ninth edition of SAEINDIA International Mobility Conference (SIIMC) with the theme “Safe Synergetic Sustainable Mobility Technologies for Future.” The event, held at the India Habitat Center in New Delhi, focused on key technology issues relevant to mobility engineering such as safety, design, information technology, electronics, fuels and environment.

The conference was inaugurated by Dr. Rajan Katoch, Secretary, Department of Heavy Industries, Government of India; also in attendance were Dr. Aravind Bharadwaj, President, SAEINDIA; Arvind Balaji, President, ACMA and Jt. MD, Lucas TVS; S. Sandilya, Past President, SIAM and Chairman, Eicher Motors; Dr. R.K. Malhotra, Sr. VP, SAEINDIA; and C.V. Raman, ED – Eng., Maruti Suzuki India and chairman of the SIIMC 2016 organizing committee.

• Challenges of urbanization and sustainable mobility, stringent safety regulations and emission norms (BS VI by 2020).

The need to develop technologies relevant to India

The organizers received a total of 400 papers from R&D engineers from vehicle and component manufacturers. Under a rigorous SAE International process of review, a total of 91 papers, including 22 student papers, were selected for presentation during the three-day event. In all, 17 technical and five student sessions were held, in addition to 11 keynote presentations.

Another highlight of this year’s conference was a TOPTECH program on crash safety conducted by Dr. Joseph Kanianthra, former Associate Administrator at NHTSA in the U.S. The conference also had interesting and relevant keynote presentations and panel discussions on electric vehicles, the fuel cell future, connected vehicles and Advance Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), automotive lighting and light-signaling technology, automotive safety, advancing safety in a connected mobility environment, Clean Air 2020 and others, all presented by national and international experts.

The conference also comprised 22 technical sessions chaired by leaders from the automotive industry and separate student sessions that brought out the brilliance of authors on wide variety of industry-related issues.

The conference’s cultural event was appealing to the eye and intellect of the audience, which was treated to a fascinat- ing show of talented artists. There were approximately 25 exhibitors that showcased the latest advances and innovations in the industry and SIIMC 2016 made a record contribution to the All-India Confederation of the Blind (AIBC) by converting the cost of traditional guest mementos into donation.