DRIVEN consortium on road to autonomous success

A fleet of Ford Mondeos, driven by autonomous software developed by Oxbotica, gave a week-long demonstration around a circuit in Stratford in east London earlier in the autumn.

Over 450 trips were made carrying local residents and members of the general public, driving on congested roads around the Queen Elizabeth Park, Stratford centre and Stratford International rail station, continuing through torrential rain at times.

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The cars operated completely autonomously, with a safety driver to take control if necessary.

The £13.6m 30-month project, match-funded by the government’s Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, has brought together a wide range of partners to cover the entire autonomous vehicle ‘ecosystem’. This includes experts in local authority planning, insurance, cyber security and data trading.

Prof Paul Newman, co-founder of Oxbotica, said the trial demonstrated the system’s ability to work on typical London roads.

Prof Newman stressed that the Oxbotica system is “totally infrastructure-free” needing no roadside beacons, GPS or third-party maps. This means it can operate through tight urban canyons where there is no GPS coverage.