Skip to main content

Nissan to lead human driving style AV project in the UK

Nissan’s European Technical Centre will lead a 30-month Autonomous Vehicle trial on UK country roads, high speed roundabouts, A-Roads and motorways with live traffic and different environmental conditions. Called the HumanDrive project, it will also emulate a natural human driving style with the intention of providing an enhanced experience for its occupants. The artificial driver model that controls perception and decision making will pilot the vehicle, and will be developed using artificial intelligence
February 2, 2018 Read time: 2 mins

838 Nissan’s European Technical Centre will lead a 30-month Autonomous Vehicle trial on UK country roads, high speed roundabouts, A-Roads and motorways with live traffic and different environmental conditions. Called the HumanDrive project, it will also emulate a natural human driving style with the intention of providing an enhanced experience for its occupants.

The artificial driver model that controls perception and decision making will pilot the vehicle, and will be developed using artificial intelligence technologies. The system will be subjected to testing using a range of facilities including, simulation, hardware in the loop, private test track and small sections of public roads before its full deployment.

HumanDrie is subsidized by the government’s £100m ($142m) intelligent mobility fund, which is administered by the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles and delivered by Innovate UK. It is also partly funded by industry.

In addition, the study will draw on the expertise from a range of organisations such as Hitachi and Transport Systems Catapult as well as Cranfield University, University of Leeds, Horiba Mira, Atkins, Aimsum, Sbd Automotive and Highways England.

Greg Clark, business and energy secretary, said: “Low carbon and self-driving vehicles are the future and they are going to drive forward a global revolution in mobility. This revolution has the potential to be worth £52bn [$73bn] to our economy by 2035 and the opportunity to be at the forefront of this change is one we cannot afford to miss.

“Through our Industrial Strategy and the Automotive Sector Deal investment in the development of driverless technology we are committed to working with industry to seize these opportunities. Trailblazing projects like the HumanDrive project will play a vital role helping us deliver on that ambition, with UK businesses and research institutions working with partners from around the world on the disruptive technologies and services of the future.”

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Rfpro develops platform to test AVs in simulated environment
    April 5, 2018
    UK-based Rfpro has launched a commercially available platform to train and develop autonomous vehicles (AVs) in simulation. The innovation is said to reduce the costs and time involved in developing these vehicles as well as provide a safe testing environment. The solution intends to replicate the real word to allow the various sensors of AVs to react naturally. In addition, Rfpro is producing a library of real roads created through precise scanning technology, to help form the basis of the simulation.
  • The downside of driverless vehicles
    October 27, 2016
    Driverless cars will have a detrimental effect on congestion and security while the road safety benefits can be achieved sooner and cheaper using ADAS, argues Colin Sowman. Many Governments are consulting about the introduction of driverless vehicles and even running trials. As 70% or 80% of crashes are caused by human error, the promise of a crash-free future of driverless, self-driving or autonomous vehicles (call them what you will) is alluring, as are the claims of reduced congestion and lower emissions
  • Driven consortium aims to trial AVs in London before Christmas
    November 28, 2018
    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
  • IBTTA: ‘The only way to keep up is to stay ahead’
    March 4, 2019
    The focus of the IBTTA’s Annual Technology Summit is changing. The tolling organisation’s Bill Cramer explains why this is good news for ITS professionals looking to embrace new technologies For a decade or more, the technology summits hosted by the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA) have helped drive the tolling industry’s embrace of the systems, services and breakthrough concepts that are building a 21st century transportation sector. Now, the summit itself is adjusting its