Three Bristol firms awarded £4.1m to work on automated vehicle trechnology

A trio of Bristol firms have landed £4.1m worth of government funding to develop autonomous vehicle technology.

The projects include Calyo, Aptcore and Zero Point Motion and the University of the West of England.

The firms have secured the funding from the Government’s Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV) Commercialising Connected and Automated Mobility: Supply Chain competition.

A total of £18.5m is available to companies to strengthen the capabilities of the UK’s connected and automated mobility supply chain.

Thirteen projects have been chosen which will improve the safety and security of self-driving vehicles.

The research will specific technology gaps, improve performance, reliability and support scale-up opportunities in the UK and overseas.

The grants complement £81m worth of investment in CAM technology.

Calyo is working on a project driven by sound, which will create an affordable navigation system for automated vehicles. The firm has been awarded £910,000.

Aptcore has been awarded £1.8m to develop a high-performance imaging radar product specifically designed for AVs.

Finally Zero Point Motion is leading the ‘photonic inertial sensors for automotive’ project.

The project has been awarded £1.4m to develop advanced position and navigation sensors that work reliably in various environments.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt said: “From farm tractors fuelled by hydrogen to rapid-charge first responder motorcycles, these projects receiving funding today show we are not short of innovators in this country.

“By supporting growth in the industries of the future, including through better regulation, we are delivering on our plan to get the economy growing and make the UK the best place in the world to start and grow a business.”

These projects will be delivered in partnership with CCAV’s delivery partners, Zenzic and Innovate UK to bring together government and industry to support the development of sovereign capabilities within the UK CAM supply chain.