ServCity, the UK’s newest autonomous mobility service research project, has begun its testing phase on the streets of London, with the aim of helping cities harness the latest autonomous vehicle technologies and successfully incorporate them into a complex urban environment.
After months of development, simulation and testing on private test tracks the ServCity project has now reached the stage where the ServCity Connected and Autonomous Vehicle (CAV) is being trialled at the Smart Mobility Living Lab (SMLL) based in Greenwich.
Built upon a 100% electric Nissan LEAF, the ServCity CAV will be tested in a complex urban environment. ServCity will be leveraging the SMLL by using the roadside sensors and processing power to create a cooperative infrastructure environment, which will add to the CAVs own situational awareness.
Through a combination of test simulation, end-user experience research and real-world trials, ServCity will work to inform how cities can exploit the potential of future mobility solutions and accelerate CAV deployment.
Concentrating on the three key areas of technology, people and scalability, ServCity aims to ensure the user experience is as intuitive, inclusive and “engaging” as possible.
This project aims to not only help make autonomous vehicles more user friendly, but also give users confidence that they can respond quickly and safely and to all types of challenges they face on the roads.
ServCity is jointly funded by government and industry, the government’s £100m Intelligent Mobility fund is administered by the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV) and delivered by the UK’s innovation agency, Innovate UK.
Over three years, six partners – Nissan, the Connected Places Catapult, TRL, Hitachi Europe, the University of Nottingham and SBD Automotive – will work together to develop a blueprint that directly tackles the barriers to deploying autonomous vehicles in the UK’s cities.
Andrew Hart, director from SBD Automotive, said: “Robotaxis have the potential to fundamentally transform mobility for both consumers and the cities they operate in. The user experience lies at the heart of that transformation, as operators will need to carefully balance customer expectations with real-world technological constraints.
“SBD is proud to be a part of the ServCity project, bringing our decades of hands-on experience from working with car makers to help define and test different approaches to delivering a seamless Robotaxi experience.”
