StreetDrone, an Oxford-based autonomous mobility technology company, has won UK government funding to develop 5G connected and self-driving 40-tonne trucks capable of moving parts and assemblies between Nissan’s Sunderland plant and local businesses in its just-in-time supply chain.
Termed 5G CAL – or 5G Connected and Autonomous Logistics – the proof-of-concept project will assess how 5G connected and autonomous logistics operations can drive more efficiency into industrial supply chain operations.
It will build on StreetDrone’s autonomy work that includes the stewardship of various open-source autonomous software solutions with a focus on low-speed applications, including urban and suburban metropolitan areas, campuses and manufacturing plants.
Following a grant from the UK Department for Culture, Media and Sport, StreetDrone is required to develop both software and hardware solutions spanning redundant braking systems, a driving robot capable of complex articulated truck manoeuvres in confined areas and the integration of driverless software with telematic control for remote fleet management.
Mark Preston, StreetDrone’s co-founder, said: “We are excited to work with the CAVL consortium in the North of England to demonstrate 5G as a key enabler in the roll-out of connected and autonomous vehicles.
“We look forward to augmenting StreetDrone’s capability in Level 4 autonomy and taking advantage of 5G benefits such as low latency teleoperation, vehicle-infrastructure communications and edge & cloud computing to make CAV logistics a commercially viable proposition and demonstrate this with an exciting end-user in Nissan Motor Manufacturing UK.”
The consortium is made up of businesses and institutions including Sunderland City Council, Newcastle University, Vantec, Coventry University, Connected Places Catapult, The North East Automotive Alliance and Perform Green.
