Skip to main content

UK smart mobility living lab launched in London

UK transport consultancy, the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL), has launched the UK Smart Mobility Living Lab @ Greenwich; a real-life environment where connected and automated vehicles (CAVs), services and processes can be safely developed, evaluated and integrated within the local community. Based in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, London and supported by UK government, the UK Smart Mobility Living Lab @ Greenwich helps organisations bring solutions to market faster by enabling them to be trialled a
February 19, 2016 Read time: 3 mins
UK transport consultancy, the Transport Research Laboratory (491 TRL), has launched the UK Smart Mobility Living Lab @ Greenwich; a real-life environment where connected and automated vehicles (CAVs), services and processes can be safely developed, evaluated and integrated within the local community.

Based in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, London and supported by UK government, the UK Smart Mobility Living Lab @ Greenwich helps organisations bring solutions to market faster by enabling them to be trialled and validated in a real-life environment. Vehicle manufacturers, OEMs and tech developers can use the lab to assist with research and development, concept testing and validation, launching new technology or services, and understanding how new technology is perceived in a real world environment.

TRL has identified three clear challenges facing the CAV market today; the choice and variety of technologies available to manufacturers, the rate at which the capacity and speed of those technologies are developing and the automotive industry’s ability to adapt quickly enough to capitalise on the opportunities this presents. The UK Smart Mobility Living Lab aims to help organisations address these challenges by providing an open innovation environment in which industry, academia and the public sector can collaborate to accelerate the development of safe, efficient and effective CAV systems.

London provides the ideal location to explore the interoperability of CAVs with other transport services; due to the permissive regulations, thriving automotive industry and excellent research base and innovation infrastructure.

Greenwich benefits from a diverse range of transport modes including roads, buses, underground, rail, Docklands Light Railway, river bus and the Emirates Airline cable car. This provides an ideal environment to test the interaction and interoperability of connected and autonomous vehicles in a variety of different environments.

Rob Wallis, CEO of TRL commented: “The launch of the UK Smart Mobility Living Lab is an important step in the path towards vehicle automation. Many organisations are testing autonomous systems in dedicated off-street facilities, but the success of these vehicles largely depends on how they integrate into real world living environments, alongside existing transport services. By providing a welcoming and real-life regulatory environment for testing, TRL can help accelerate the adoption of new technology and enable the UK to play a pivotal role in the development of this global market over the next five years.”

Transport Minister Andrew Jones added: “Driverless cars will improve road safety and bring huge benefits to the economy. We have backed projects in Greenwich with £9m of funding that are helping to turn it into a major centre for testing and demonstration. I am excited to see the UK Smart Mobility Living Lab progress, helping to keep the UK at the forefront of the motoring of the future.”

Related Content

  • July 30, 2014
    UK Government fast tracks driverless cars
    UK business secretary Vince Cable has announced two new measures today that give the green light for driverless cars to take to UK roads from January 2015. UK cities can now bid for a share of a US$16.9 million competition to host a driverless cars trial. The government is calling on cities to join together with businesses and research organisations to put forward proposals to become a test location. Up to three cities will be selected to host the trials from 2015 and each project is expected to last
  • February 20, 2023
    ServCity AV project reaches final test
    Three-year initiative in London has aimed to demonstrate practicalities of urban robotaxis
  • October 2, 2014
    TRL pledges support for global initiative at UN Climate Summit
    The UK’s Transport Research Laboratory (TRL)’s chief executive Rob Wallis, attending the United Nations Climate Summit in New York last week, was delighted to be able to pledge TRL’s support to the UEMI initiative, by UN-Habitat. “The UEMI initiative, aimed at substantially increasing the adoption of electric vehicles within urban environments, aligns strongly with TRL’s own strategy and current activities,” Wallis explained. “TRL is actively engaged in leading innovative research programmes to understan
  • October 20, 2017
    Move_UK develop new validation method to speed up AV deployment
    Move_UK has completed the first phase of its three-year research programme for the real-world testing of autonomous vehicles (AVs) in the borough of Greenwich, London. The project has enabled the company to develop a new validation method to reduce the time taken to test automated driving systems and bring them to market. The project’s data is gathered from sensors installed on a fleet of Land Rover vehicles that have already completed more than 30