British firms to test driverless cars on UK roads

British companies will test driverless cars on UK roads from 2019, after recieving backing from the government for a 30-month trial starting from this month.
A consortium named Driven group plans to try out a fleet of autonomous vehicles between London and Oxford.
The cars will communicate with each other about any hazards and should operate with almost full autonomy.
All previous tests of driverless vehicles in the UK have mainly taken place at slow speeds and not on public roads. The consortium is led by Oxbotica, which makes software for driverless vehicles.
Founder Prof Paul Newman, of Oxford University said: "We're moving from the singleton autonomous vehicle to fleets of autonomous vehicles - and what's interesting is what data the vehicles share with one another, when, and why."

From this month, the 30-month project will focus on developing an automated system to radically transform how insurance and autonomous vehicles will work together in connected cities.

The project will culminate in an end-to-end journey from London to Oxford.
The vehicles will operate at Level 4 autonomy, which means they have the capability of performing all safety- critical driving functions and monitoring roadway conditions for an entire trip, with zero-passenger occupancy.
The latest project is just one of a number of attempts to test driverless vehicles in the UK.
Start-up Five AI, an artificial intelligence firm, is to bring a fleet of autonomous vehicles to London's roads in 2019 after its StreetWise consortium was awarded grant support.

The 23-million-pound project, which includes partners Transport for London, Direct Line, the University of Oxford and the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL), will work on trialling an autonomous personal mobility service targeted at replacing the urban commuter car in London.
Rob Wallis, CEO at TRL, said: "We continue to see a major industry shift towards automation, connectivity and electrification of vehicles, and the use of shared mobility schemes. Such market disruption is transforming the way people will travel, especially in cities, and it is vital that the UK remains at the forefront of this development."
The project will develop and demonstrate the technology, safety validation methods, insurance and service models for the solution, which will focus on reducing costs, cutting accident rates, lowering emissions and minimising congestion.