Self-driving project website launched
Details about the UK’s largest government-backed trial of self-driving vehicles are now readily available following the launch of the UK Autodrive project website.
The site (www.ukautodrive.com) lists a schedule of milestones for the three-year project, which involves regular road-based cars provided by Ford, Jaguar Land Rover and Tata Motors, as well as pavement-based electric ‘pod’ vehicles designed and built by Coventry-based firm RDM Group.
The listed project milestones include the start of connected car trials at the HORIBA MIRA test track in Nuneaton in October. Further trials are then due to take place on closed and open roads in the host cities of Milton Keynes and Coventry throughout 2017, before the project culminates in a final set of trials and demonstrations during the summer of 2018.
The UK Autodrive website also contains project-related news and events, information on the UK Autodrive consortium members and a list of frequently asked questions about the project and about connected and autonomous vehicles in general.
Later this year, the website will be used to let members of the public take part in a global survey of attitudes towards self-driving vehicles. It is also planned that residents of Milton Keynes and Coventry will be able to use the site to sign up to participate in the later stages of the trials.
‘UK Autodrive is as much about the public’s attitude towards connected and autonomous vehicles as it is about the technology itself, and we’ll be using the website heavily in the coming months to help people understand the huge potential benefits offered by automated transport,’ said UK Autodrive programme director Tim Armitage.
