Skip to main content

Colas to trial and develop autonomous IPV

UK company Colas will begin building and trialling the first autonomous impact protection vehicle (IPV) in the UK this year in partnership with two US companies, Royal Truck and Equipment and Micro Systems. Fitted with an electro-mechanical system and fully integrated sensor suite, the autonomous IPV has a leader/follower capability that allows it to follow a lead vehicle, unmanned. GPS position data is transmitted from the leader vehicle to the follower vehicle, which uses the data to follow the exact p
April 20, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
UK company Colas will begin building and trialling the first autonomous impact protection vehicle (IPV) in the UK this year in partnership with two US companies, Royal Truck and Equipment and Micro Systems.

Fitted with an electro-mechanical system and fully integrated sensor suite, the autonomous IPV has a leader/follower capability that allows it to follow a lead vehicle, unmanned. GPS position data is transmitted from the leader vehicle to the follower vehicle, which uses the data to follow the exact path and speed of the leader vehicle at each point along a route. Initially deployed for use in the US military, the technology has been tailored by Royal Truck and Equipment and Micro Systems for the highways industry.

Engineers from Royal Truck and Equipment and Micro Systems will visit the UK to work with Colas engineers to install the new technology on a brand new IPV. A vigorous testing and training regime is in place and the new vehicle will be trialled on a live worksite under closely controlled conditions. All data collected during the trial period will be analysed and incorporated into the roll out of future vehicles across Europe.

Related Content

  • July 16, 2012
    Semi-autonomous hybrid vehicle trials show fuel, emission savings
    The Transport Research Laboratory has unveiled an innovative semi-autonomous vehicle prototype. It offers improves in environmental performance and safety but also displays some shortcomings. Mike Woof reports. The UK's Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) has been working on an innovative project to develop a prototype vehicle intended to reduce fuel consumption. Based on a Ford Escape hybrid model, TRL's Sentience vehicle uses a combination of mobile communications and mapping technologies to reduce fuel c
  • September 10, 2015
    UK university unveils technology to solve 200-year old railway problem
    A failsafe track switch designed to eradicate a 200-year-old problem on the railway has been created by engineers at Loughborough University in the UK. The technology, known as Repoint, is a robust and reliable points mechanism which will improve safety, reduce maintenance costs and boost capacity on the railways.
  • July 14, 2016
    Colas to trial solar road
    UK highways services provider Colas is set to start trialling its innovative solar road solution, Wattway and is in the process of identifying potential sites with clients interested in the photovoltaic road surfacing. According to Colas, the technology provides clean, renewable energy in the form of electricity, while allowing for all types of road traffic. Installed on top of an existing road surface, the solar panels are extremely lightweight and strong. Designed and tested to endure vehicles co
  • March 29, 2023
    What are AVs doing in rural Ohio?
    Autonomous vehicle pilots so far have been typically sighted in urban areas. But researchers in rural regions of Ohio are now trying to find out exactly what benefits they could bring to the countryside