Trying to build a business out of private, driverless routes through malls and business parks As automakers and tech firms race to develop the future of automated vehicles, a new trial for driverless vehicles in the United Kingdom seeks to change the model for pursuing and promoting new mobility technology, focusing on a system engineered for small legs of a trip, as opposed to entire commutes or trips.
These POD, or pods on-demand, vehicles, are being designed and developed by global engineering and consulting firm AECOM and others as part of the Capri Consortium, a group of 20 partnering organizations including academic institutions, businesses, and local governments. The group has secured a matching grant of £4.2 million ($5.37 million) from Innovate UK, a government fund, and the Centre for Connected & Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV) to create a pilot project. According to Lee Street, director and head of technology services at AECOM Europe, the aim is to focus on automated solutions for shared shuttles, as opposed to single-passenger private vehicles for commuters.
The project, which begins this year, will focus on four separate trials, starting with a more remote location and advancing through increasingly more challenging and complex, crowded situations. The first, on private land at Filton Airfield in Bristol, will test out a new generation of PODs and validate their performance. Next, the technology will be tested in a shopping center. Finally, the last two...