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, 2017 Read time: 3 mins
A consortium led by 491 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.


SMLL will be designed as an environment where innovators in the automotive sector, transport service and technology providers, SMEs, local and central government and research bodies, can exchange ideas and develop technical and business solutions for the future of smart mobility solutions. It will provide a real-world urban test bed that is capable of demonstrating and evaluating the use, performance and benefits of CAV technology and mobility services in an accessible and globally recognisable context.
    
The consortium comprises expertise from across the transport and technology sectors, including TRL, DG Cities, Cisco, Costain, Cubic, Loughborough University, 1466 Transport for London and the London Legacy Development Corporation. Delivery partners include Millbrook Proving Ground and the University of Surrey’s 5G Innovation Centre.

Business and energy secretary Greg Clark said: “Combining ambitious new technologies and innovative business models to address social and economic challenges lies at the heart of the Government’s modern Industrial Strategy. Accelerating connected and autonomous vehicle technology development is central to achieving this ambition and will help to ensure the UK is one of the world’s go-to locations to develop this sector.

Councillor Denise Hyland, leader of the royal borough of Greenwich, said: “I am delighted that the Royal Borough of Greenwich and the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park has been chosen as the location for one of the UK test-beds for connected and autonomous vehicles, and will be home to the Smart Mobility Living Lab: London. This important initiative will further consolidate Greenwich, London and the UK’s pre-eminence in the development and application of connected and autonomous vehicle technology. It builds on our success in establishing the Royal Borough of Greenwich as a leader in smart city innovation and our work to identify the opportunities that technologies such as connected and autonomous vehicles can bring, how cities will need to adapt, and our determination to put city authorities at the heart of the innovation debate.”

Related Content

  • July 26, 2018
    McCain appoints former USDoT leader Mike Schagrin to direct CAV effort
    Swarco subsidiary McCain has appointed former US Department of Transportation (US DoT) ITS Joint Program Office (JPO) leader, Mike Schagrin, program manager, connected and autonomous vehicles. He will direct the company’s connected and automated vehicle (CAV) effort. The CAV programme also includes vehicle to infrastructure and intelligent infrastructure offerings for business, academic and deployment activities. Greg McKhann, McCain’s chief operating officer, says Schagrin will help the company take
    Read More
  • December 4, 2012
    Success of London's Olympic public transport systems
    The Olympic flame has moved on, allowing review of the relative degrees of London’s 2012 transportation success, how it was done and with what lasting effects. Jon Masters reports. This magazine’s international position provides a good vantage point for assessing impressions left by London’s 2012 Olympic Games. On the whole, it has been only praise and congratulations heard since the closing ceremonies of the Olympic Games in August and the Paralympics in September. The events looked great and ran smoothly
    Read More
  • March 24, 2017
    South Australian government announces first round of autonomous technology funding
    Seven projects will share in US$4.2 million (AU$5.6 million) from the first round of funding from the South Australian government’s Future Mobility Lab Fund to drive local development of autonomous vehicle technology. Autonomous cargo pods for the Tonsley Innovation Precinct and driverless shuttles for Flinders University students are also among the projects to win funding, with other projects to be announced soon. Transfers between Adelaide Airport’s terminal and long-term car park are set to go driv
    Read More
  • March 17, 2016
    Boost to infrastructure, autonomous cars in UK budget
    The UK chancellor announced in his spring budget what he called the biggest investment, US$87.5 billion (£61 billion), in transport infrastructure in generations and is increasing capital investment in the transport network by 50 per cent over this Parliament compared to the last. The government plans to establish the UK as a global centre for excellence in connected and autonomous vehicles by establishing a US$24.1 million (£15 million) ‘connected corridor’ from London to Dover to enable vehicles to com
    Read More

Highlighted Content