Midlands technology park hosts £20m autonomous vehicle trials

MIDLANDS technology park HORIBA MIRA has played host to a £20m research and development project which could shape the future of motoring for decades to come.

UK Autodrive involves the UK’s first collaborative trials of connected and autonomous vehicles.
 
The multi-million-pound project brings together manufacturers Jaguar Land Rover and Ford with Tata Motors European Technical Centre (TMETC).

The various parties gathered at HORIBA MIRA’s Proving Ground in Nuneaton to test some of the new technology in near authentic real driving conditions.
 
UK Autodrive, jointly funded by government and industry, will start to trial connected (Ford, Jaguar Land Rover, TMETC) and autonomous (Jaguar Land Rover, TMETC) vehicles on public roads in Milton Keynes and Coventry from next year.

HORIBA MIRA is one of 16 organisations collaborating in the UK Autodrive project and will provide controlled environment (proving ground) test facilities.
 
It is the first project in the UK to showcase the benefits of having cars that can communicate with each other across multiple makes.

The latest trials saw the carmakers demonstrate two of the seven connected features which they plan to trial during the three-year programme.

The trials included showcasing how vehicles can warn their drivers if another connected vehicle ahead has braked severely, lowering the risk of rear-end collisions. The second demonstration showed how connected cars can be sent information from traffic lights, allowing them to reduce the likelihood of meeting red lights – potentially improving future traffic flow and lowering emissions in urban areas.
 
In addition to providing the proving ground facilities for UK Autodrive, HORIBA MIRA will provide safety guidance for the trials, both test-track and city-based, as well as guidance on requirements for the future deployment of connected vehicles.

HORIBA MIRA will also support cyber security for the trials and the development of security protocols on the future deployment of connected vehicles.
 
Further UK Autodrive trials and demonstrations are scheduled to take place at HORIBA MIRA next spring before moving out onto the closed-off areas of Milton Keynes and Coventry in late 2017. The project will culminate in a series of public road trials and demonstrations to be held in both cities in 2018.
 
Chris Reeves, Commercial Manager for Future Transport Technologies and Intelligent Mobility at MIRA, said: “We are delighted to be hosting the trials and demonstrations and to be a part of a consortium that will help position the UK as a global leader for the development of connected autonomous vehicle technologies.
 
“Throughout this project we have been building upon our world class expertise in connected autonomous vehicle systems to help the UK deliver the economic and societal benefits these technologies can bring.”
 
Tony Harper, Head of Research, Jaguar Land Rover, said: “We know that there’s a huge potential for these technologies in future vehicles around the world. Until now we have focused on communication between Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles, this collaborative approach is a major stepping stone towards all Connected and Autonomous Vehicles co-operating with each other in the future.

“Our aim is to give drivers exactly the right information at the right time and collaborations with other manufacturers are essential to help us deliver this commitment to our customers.”