The DRIVEN consortium recently announced it will begin testing autonomous vehicles in the London borough of Hounslow within the month and will continue until next summer.
The London tests follow successful ongoing trials in Oxford. During the London trials, consortium partners will test autonomous-vehicles data transfer. A driver will be behind the steering wheel at all times during the tests.
“Our role developing and strengthening the understanding of data flow and security within the backbone infrastructure needed for autonomous vehicles is vital if driverless cars are to become a mainstream reality,” Russell Haworth, CEO of consortium partner Nominet, said. “This next phase for DRIVEN ensures we are a step closer to achieving that goal as we find solutions and push the boundaries and perceptions of the technology required to make it happen.”
In preparation for the tests, the vehicles are mapping Hounslow using cameras, LIDAR sensors, radar, computers, and autonomy software.
The consortium is led by Oxbotica and includes AXA XL, Oxford Robotics Institute, Oxfordshire County Council, Telefonica O2 UK, TRL, the UK Atomic Energy Authority’s robotics centre RACE, Transport for London, and Westbourne Communications.
The consortium is an Innovate UK-backed research project and is funded by an $11 million grant.