Oxbotica, a UK tech company which spun off the Oxford Robotics Institute, will lead an ambitious 30-month program to get fully autonomous vehicles traveling between London and Oxford.
The UK public got their first extended trial of the driverless shuttlebus in March. As part of "Project Gateway", around 100 people traveled in a prototype shuttle on a route in Greenwich, London.
Excitement as #driverlessfutures become real – @GATEway_TRL driverless shuttle public trials begin @HHCDesign @DigiGreenwich @oxbotica pic.twitter.com/aMSfDvIAyn
— Royal College of Art (@RCA) April 5, 2017
The shuttlebus which was named Harry was manufactured by Westfield Sportscars and Heathrow Enterprises, whereas Oxbotica worked on its autonomous software.
The shuttlebuses are autonomous and can be operated with ease; the bus operator can view information about the shuttle, whether it is in motion or stationary. The operator can also look at the amount of battery remaining and the temperature of key components. All of this can be seen from the iPad and an operator can cancel autonomy at the touch of a button, as well as request maintenance.
Great response to the driverless pod trials in Greenwich this week @HHCDesign @RCA @GATEway_TRL #inclusivedesign #Driverless pic.twitter.com/4BI3Z5Z0NZ
— GATEway RCA (@GATEway_RCA) April 7, 2017
Oxbotica's chief executive, Dr. Graeme Smith said that the latest news from the company was "truly groundbreaking."
"We are seeking to address some of the most fundamental challenges preventing the future commercial deployment of fully autonomous vehicles," Dr. Smith said.
The consortium of technology and transport companies that will be receiving the funding are Spanish telecommunications company Telefonica, consultancy company Transport Research Lab (TRL), as well as Oxfordshire council and Transport for London.
Government is investing £1bn in cutting-edge technologies through the #IndustrialStrategy Challenge Fund https://t.co/08coAaQdJG pic.twitter.com/kh1S0MsBYQ
— Dept for BEIS (@beisgovuk) April 21, 2017
The cash will come from the UK government's Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, which is part of a £2 billion (US$2,6bn) pledge to support state of the art technology in the modern industrial strategy. The fund, which is designed to foster greater collaboration between business, science and technology, hopes to place the UK ahead in the driverless car market.
ADS welcomes Government announcement on Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund support for manufacturing and future materials. pic.twitter.com/n1NqgZAYjr
— ADS Group (@ADSgroupUK) April 21, 2017
UK Business minister Greg Clark recently added driverless cars, future materials and satellite and space technologies to the list of sectors to be awarded grants.
