Over the last few years, technological innovation has transformed the world of transportation. It is now the tech companies that are developing the latest trends in our cars. Self-driving vehicles are the next big thing, spearheaded by the large corporations in the US, such as Google and Microsoft. But there is innovation happening much closer to home. Apple are reportedly creating their own car in Berlin, and other businesses in the UK are also trialling the technology.
Britain wants to be at the forefront of autonomous driving and the businesses involved have benefited from an increase in government investment into the scientific and engineering sectors in this country. The breakthroughs have not been insignificant. This summer, there are car trials running throughout the country and we’re not far away from tests being run on the roads.
But what has led to the development of self-driving cars in the UK and how is it being advanced here?
Government support
The government’s Intelligent Mobility Fund has provided millions of pounds in support of growing the technology for self-driving cars. This investment is financing the development of everything from autonomous shuttles to carry visually-impaired passengers, to new simulation trials for autonomous pods. Big cities including London, Milton Keynes, Bristol and Coventry are all trialling their own versions.
Business Secretary Sajid Javid says: “Our cars of the future will be equipped with the technologies that will make getting from A to B safer, faster, and cleaner. They will alert drivers of accidents ahead and be able to receive information from their surroundings about hazards, increasing the safety of drivers, passengers and pedestrians.”
Safer and more efficient
Google has been putting its self-driving cars through rigid safety tests to ensure they can be trusted on the roads. A slow-speed collision with a bus in Silicon Valley this year – the first incidence of a crash involving a self-driving car – generated new criticism of the technology and its decision making ability.
In London, the Greenwich Automated Transport Environment (GATEway) is conducted a number of trials to see how automated vehicles fare in urban environments. The project aims to accelerate the take-up of driverless cars and identify potential risk areas and challenges to further the development of the technology in the UK.
GATEway’s trials will include an automated shuttle transport on the Greenwich peninsula and autonomous valet parking of cars, enabling users to exit their vehicle while it finds a specified parking space autonomously. The hope is that, once on the road, self-driving cars with this ability will cut down on queuing times and reduce the number of accidents happening in urban areas.
Zero emission
At one of the world’s busiest airports – London Heathrow – Personal Rapid Transit systems have been in place since 2011. They are free to ride from Terminal 5’s business parking lots, and take the passenger directly to their chosen station. They are also electrical, autonomous pods, with zero emissions and are therefore preferable to the multiple hopper buses that the airport used to use. There are more planned for other UK cities, including Birmingham.
Companies need to improve the understanding and industry perception of the benefits of self-driving cars before they become widely used. There is also still more testing to do, including the cars’ capabilities on urban roads, motorways, the market’s readiness and new UX tools still need to be fully investigated. Once this is done, there are plenty of manufacturers who will begin to produce self-driving vehicles.
Kia hopes to hopes to introduce the brand’s first partially autonomous car to the roads by 2020 and first fully autonomous car by 2030. Autonomous features, such as active cruise control and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) already exist – the Drive Wise initiative was unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) earlier this year.
Driverless cars are on the way. Make sure that you think about how they could help your business, whether you manage a fleet or not.
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