01/02/2018

UK to see 200-mile driverless journey

BBC reports that the HumanDrive project is set to put an autonomous car on a 200-mile journey around the UK in December 2019.

Incorporating a country roads, high-speed roundabouts the car will help to deliver the UK's wish to get driverless cars on the road by 2021.

The HumanDrive initiative incorporates Groupe Renault, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Cranfield University and Highways England and others and will see the car tested in a range of conditions on private tracks before the December 2019 test. The car will learn from human drivers who will be tested on their driving skills and data collected.

Britain is facing competition in the automated vehicle market from the US and other countries but Business and energy secretary Greg Clark said 'Low-carbon and self-driving vehicles are the future and they are going to drive forward a global revolution in mobility.

'Trailblazing projects like the HumanDrive project will play a vital role helping us deliver on that ambition.'

Mark Westwood, chief technology officer of the Transport Systems Catapult, also involved in the project, said, 'UK roads throw up some particular challenges. They are different from American roads, with roundabouts and demanding country lanes. These are really testing environments.

'This project is about advancing the state of the art and trying to do something more demanding. The control system will learn to drive like a human.'

Most car firms, including Toyota, Nissan, BMW and Ford, also have ambitious timelines to get fully autonomous vehicles on the roads by 2020 or 2021.