UKAEA's RACE to become new test site for driverless cars

TINNews |

TIN news: UK-based Remote Applications in Challenging Environments (RACE) is set to become a new test site for autonomous cars, as major funding was announced for companies testing driverless vehicles.

RACE is the UK's Atomic Energy Authority's (UKAEA's) robotics technology facility at Culham Science Centre, and is expected to play a key role in putting the first autonomous cars on public roads over the coming years.

A significant portion of the funding was awarded by the government’s Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV) to a consortium called DRIVEN, which is led by driverless car developers Oxbotica and including RACE.

DRIVEN has secured £8m in funding out of £13m that has been allocated for this sector by the government.

The consortium also includes Telefonica, Oxfordshire County Council, Transport for London and Westbourne Communications.

“DRIVEN will show how autonomous vehicles will change the world, both for the public and industrial users."

The funding will be used by the Oxbotica to develop and operate a fleet of vehicles on public roads, with complete autonomy, over the next two and half years.

The project will be closed when these vehicles travel autonomously from London to Oxford as a public demonstration of the viability of this technology.

The car will have a safety driver onboard as a precautionary measure.

Oxbotica will use 10km of roads, junctions, roundabouts within the closed Culham site, as it is suitable for testing and monitoring driverless vehicles reactions to other vehicles, cyclists and people in realistic circumstances in various weather conditions.

RACE director Rob Buckingham said: “RACE has been working with Oxbotica for some time now. The DRIVEN team brings together the right combination of interests and enthusiasm to change the conversation in this exciting field from mostly speculation to real world detail.

“DRIVEN will show how autonomous vehicles will change the world, both for the public and industrial users.

“DRIVEN is important because it will answer questions around cyber security and insurance, as well as the underlying technology. RACE has a key supporting role: enabling testing on the Culham Science Centre site before we venture on the public roads.

“DRIVEN reinforces our aspiration to enable connected and autonomous vehicles to be widely adopted. Starting in Oxfordshire we are already thinking about how autonomous vehicles fit within a modern transport plan for both Oxford and Didcot Garden Town.

“DRIVEN is a very important step on this journey.”