Bosch is to lead the consortium ConVEx (Connected Vehicle data Exchange) and create a facility for the exchange of data which will help to accelerate the development and deployment of connected and automated vehicles.
The consortium includes Jaguar Land Rover, Transport for West Midlands, WMG, and three SMEs: Valerann, Synaptiv and Immense Solutions. And Interdigital and Transport Systems Catapult will support the consortium as subcontractors.
The UK Government has awarded over £4 million to the project through its dedicated Meridian Mobility organisation which recognises that the collection, aggregation, analysis and, critically, sharing of data is key for future mobility. Overall £8 million is being invested in the consortium.
Aligning with Meridian’s real world connected and automated testbed facilities – Midlands Future Mobility and the Smart Mobility Living Lab: London the ConVEx facility headquartered will be on the WMG campus with partner office at Bosch’s new ‘Connectory’ facility in London.
The facility will be developed over the course of 2019 and commercial data sharing operations will commence in 2020.
“We all recognise that there is tremendous value to be gained in the sharing of data to support the development and deployment of connected and automated vehicles (CAVs). We also know there is significant global competition to deliver the future mobility systems which will revolutionise the movement of people and goods around the world,” said project lead for Bosch and head of mobility R&D, Bosch UK professor Nick Reed.
“By developing safe and secure protocols for the commercial sharing of data for CAVs, we expect to accelerate technology research and development, support start-up organisations in developing new businesses based on this data, and deliver insights for the public sector in how to optimise current and future transportation systems.”
“Self-driving cars will revolutionise the way we move goods and people around the UK. These Industrial Strategy projects and investments are exciting examples of our long-term plan in action – ensuring we build on our strengths to reap the rewards as we accelerate towards our ambition to have autonomous vehicles on UK roads by 2021,” said business secretary Greg Clark.
