The StreetWise consortium has announced the launch of its commuter research trials with invited participants. Information gathered through the trials will aid the development of safe, self-driving mobility services as an alternative to the urban commuter car.
FiveAI, which is developing software and tools to power shared, self-driving vehicle services, is leading this project, in partnership with Direct Line Group, one of the UK’s largest car insurance providers, and the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL), a global research centre for innovation in transport and mobility.
The trial will take place on a fixed 19km (11.8-mile) route in the London boroughs of Croydon and Bromley and evaluate technologies, safety validation methods, insurance and service models needed to deliver a viable, shared self-driving service.
Participants will be collected and dropped off at the same location and will have a specific time slot to take part in the research.
FiveAI believes that such services could offer citizens a safer, greener, more convenient and increasingly affordable alternative to the urban commuter car.
FiveAI’s role in the project is to develop and provide the reference software stack that powers all key aspects of the self-driving system. The stack was developed and trained using a data set from complex UK road and cities, including London.
TRL is performing all participant research and analysis, looking at participants’ willingness to use and pay for a shared self-driving service, and measuring their attitudes towards safety and trust. It is also setting forth the safety case for the wider Streetwise project and generating an independent database of scenarios for simulation testing.
Direct Line Group is providing research participants for the trials.
UK secretary of state for transport Grant Shapps said: “The untapped potential of self-driving vehicle technology is huge – it could enhance road safety, tackle isolation, and create economic opportunities.
“The government’s future of mobility urban strategy sets out how it is planning for the introduction of self-driving vehicles, and StreetWise’s successful trial will be a major step to rolling out the next phase of the UK’s transport revolution.”
StreetWise is a consortium initiative funded by UK Research and Innovation through the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund and part of a programme managed by the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles.
