Driven consortium aims to trial AVs in London before Christmas

The Driven consortium, led by software provider Oxbotica, hopes to trial a fleet of autonomous vehicles (AV) in London before Christmas following successful ongoing tests in Oxford. The vehicles will map streets in the London Borough of Hounslow as part of the consortium’s plans to run a fully autonomous fleet between both cities in 2019. Oxbotica has equipped the vehicles with its autonomous software, radar, lidar sensors and onboard computers and cameras. The fleet will gather data on the contents of
November 28, 2018 Read time: 2 mins
The Driven consortium, led by software provider 8307 Oxbotica, hopes to trial a fleet of autonomous vehicles (AV) in London before Christmas following successful ongoing tests in %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 link-external Oxford false https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3-ow94e86o false false%>.


The vehicles will map streets in the London Borough of Hounslow as part of the consortium’s plans to run a fully autonomous fleet between both cities in 2019.

Oxbotica has equipped the vehicles with its autonomous software, radar, lidar sensors and onboard computers and cameras.

The fleet will gather data on the contents of street signs and the meanings of lane markings to understand each road. This process will be repeated throughout the trial to help the AVs detect how streets change in different lighting conditions, weather and seasons.

A safety driver will remain behind the steering wheel alongside an engineer who will monitor the vehicle’s functions.

Driven, which is supported by an £8.5 million grant from Innovate UK, seeks to establish fleet-wide 567 SAE Level 4 connected autonomy (meaning that the vehicle would operate independently while the driver goes to sleep or leaves their seat). Aside from Oxbotica, other members include the Oxford Robotics Institute, AXA XL, Nominet, Telefonica, TRL, the UK Atomic Energy Authority’s robotics centre RACE, Oxfordshire County Council (OCC), Westbourne Communications and Transport for London (TfL).

Oxbotica has worked with the OCC and TfL to discuss the roads for the trials and to liaise with emergency services and local stakeholders in Hounslow.

Axa XL will provide insurance for the trials. Internet technology firm Nominet will test data transfer between vehicles and partners in the consortium.

Russell Haworth, CEO, Nominet, says: “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.”

Charging, Tolling & RUC

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • TfL policy to ensure private hire remains safe and convenient
    February 19, 2018
    Transport for London (TfL) has launched a policy statement in response to changes in the private hire industry and new services available. It aims to keep the capital at the forefront of regulating taxi and private hire services while maintaining the safety of passengers. As part of a series of changes to increase industry standards, TfL is advancing regulations to assess private hire drivers and applicants on safeguarding, disability, equality and knowledge of private hire vehicle (PHV) legislation as
    Read More
  • Zenzic identifies ‘golden threads’ to accelerate AV roll-out
    September 12, 2019
    A UK organisation has identified 500 ‘milestones’ to be passed in order to get connected and autonomous vehicles (C/AVs) on the road in numbers by 2030. Zenzic, which was set up by government and industry to coordinate a national platform for testing and developing C/AVs, has launched the UK Connected and Automated Mobility Roadmap to 2030. It identifies six ‘golden threads’ which highlight areas dependent on cross-industry collaboration to make self-driving services accessible to the public by the end of
    Read More
  • Terrorists could use driverless cars to mount attacks, researchers warn
    February 22, 2018
    UK Researchers in Oxford and Cambridge have echoed concerns raised by ITS International two years ago about terrorists who could use autonomous cars to carry out attacks – in a report by The Telegraph. The 26 experts including those from Oxford’s Future of Humanity Institute, Cambridge’s Centre For the Study of Existential Risk and OpenAI warned that terrorists could exploit the risks in artificial intelligence (AI) to carry out driverless car crashes and cyber attacks. They added that AI is being rapid
    Read More
  • ST Engineering to develop ITS and AV technology in Israel
    November 5, 2018
    Singapore technology company ST Engineering intends to develop ITS and autonomous vehicle (AV) capabilities in Israel following an agreement with the municipality of Ashdod. The scope of the agreement includes ITS for roads and a fleet management system for buses.
    Read More

Highlighted Content