Skip to main content

Registration opens for UK’s first public driverless vehicle trials

Members of the public can now register to take part in the UK’s first public driverless vehicle trials, due to take place later this year. The trials, which will take place in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, are part of the GATEway (Greenwich Automated Transport Environment) project – a US$11.5 million (£8million) research project to investigate the use, perception and acceptance of autonomous vehicles in the UK. Taking place in the UK Smart Mobility Living Lab @ Greenwich and led by the UK’s Transport
May 13, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
Members of the public can now register to take part in the UK’s first public driverless vehicle trials, due to take place later this year. The trials, which will take place in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, are part of the GATEway (Greenwich Automated Transport Environment) project – a US$11.5 million (£8million) research project to investigate the use, perception and acceptance of autonomous vehicles in the UK.

Taking place in the UK Smart Mobility Living Lab @ Greenwich and led by the UK’s Transport Research Laboratory (491 TRL), the trials will see fully electric automated vehicles navigating their way around Greenwich. Members of the public can now register for their chance to be involved in the trials, which seek to understand how a range of different user groups feel about the use of fully automated vehicles. Those chosen to be part of the trials will be given the chance to ride in a driverless vehicle and asked to provide their views about the experience. Some participants may also be invited to share their views in interviews before and after using a vehicle.

In addition to physical vehicle trials, members of the public can also register to take part in workshops to help envision the future of driverless vehicles. The workshops, which will take place from June 2016, seek to better understand people’s attitudes towards the use of automated vehicles and their operation in cities. Participants will be encouraged to discuss and debate the topic as well as participate in creative activities with designers and researchers from GATEway partner, the Royal College of Art.

Those with experience or knowledge of Greenwich are also encouraged to share their views on driverless vehicles via a web-based sentiment mapping tool. The site, developed and managed by GATEway partner Commonplace, provides members of the public with a chance to provide feedback on how driverless vehicles might impact life in and around Greenwich. Contributors are able to revisit the site as many times as they like, adding as many comments as they wish, whenever they choose throughout the duration of the project.

Related Content

  • September 11, 2015
    TRL to lead project to encourage wider adoption of plug-in vehicles
    The Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) has appointed TRL, the UK’s Transport Research Laboratory, to lead its Consumers, Vehicles and Energy Integration (CVEI) project. The US$8 million project will examine how the UK energy system needs to adapt in order to accommodate and encourage greater adoption of plug-in hybrid and battery electric vehicles. The project aims to understand the required changes to existing infrastructure, as well as consumer response to a wider introduction of plug-in hybrid and el
  • October 23, 2017
    UK Government announces funding for Smart Mobility Lab in London
    A consortium led by TRL has been awarded £13.4 million ($10.1 million) of the UK government's £51 million ($38 million) Connected and Autonomous Vehicle (CAV) testbed funding to create a Smart Mobility Living Lab (SMLL) in Greenwich and nearby Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Stratford, London. The funding is part of the £100 million ($75 million) UK CAV test bed competitive fund and is the first investment by government and industry through Meridian to develop a national CAV testing infrastructure.
  • October 23, 2015
    TRL to contribute to new autonomous vehicle research programme
    The UK’s Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) the, has announced it is part of a new US$17 million five-year research programme to develop fully autonomous cars. The programme, jointly funded by Jaguar Land Rover and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), will look at some key technologies and questions that need to be addressed before driverless cars can be allowed on the roads without jeopardising the safety of other road users, including cyclists and pedestrians. TRL is the on
  • April 20, 2017
    Increased automation is already improving road safety
    Richard Cuerden considers how many of the technologies developed as part of a move toward autonomous vehicles are already being deployed as ADAS improve road safety. The drive to create autonomous vehicles has caused a re-evaluation of what is needed to safely navigate today’s roads and the development of systems that can replace the driver in many scenarios. However, many manufacturers are not waiting for ‘tomorrow’ and are already incorporating these systems in their new cars as Advanced Driver Assistanc