Frequently asked questions

Over the past three years, UK Autodrive has set the standard for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAV) projects in the UK, and is regarded internationally as a leading project in this space. Overseen by Arup, collaboration was at the heart of our success: Collaboration between three global car manufacturers has accelerated technological R&D, underpinned by the world-leading testing and safety support from Horiba MIRA; collaboration between two local councils has helped us find solutions to the local and social challenges that face CAV technology, backed by expertise from three of our great universities; the RDM Group benefitted hugely from the support and input from this consortium not only in developing and refining their autonomous pods but in helping to commercialise them to the extent that they now have a global footprint; and finally, collaboration between all partners has helped Thales, Gowling WLG and Axa to find solutions to some of the most complex cyber-security, legal and financial challenges in this sector. Our success in The Engineer’s 2018 Collaborate to Innovate Award is further evidence of this collaboration.

Put all this together and the UK Autodrive project successfully demonstrated the world’s first multi-modal CAV demonstration across two cities, opened the door to future CAV projects, and made the UK government’s target of driverless cars on the road by 2021 an ever more likely goal. Although UK Autodrive has now come to an end, it’s legacy will remain, and individual partners will continue to build on the learnings, holding on to that spirit of collaboration, in order to help roll out CAV technology that is safe, environmentally-friendly, inclusive, scalable, commercially-viable and job-creating. Worldwide the Intelligent Mobility sector will be worth 1.4tn by 2030, with CAVs an inevitable and necessary solution to many social and technological challenges, and the UK Autodrive has helped put the UK at the heart of this exciting new sector.

A consortium of leading technology and automotive businesses, forward thinking local authorities and academic institutions who worked together on a major three-year UK trial of self-driving vehicle and connected car technologies. The trial culminated in a series of urban demonstrations on selected public roads and footpaths in the host cities of Milton Keynes and Coventry. As well as showcasing the latest technology, UK Autodrive also investigated other important aspects of automated driving – including safety and cyber-security, legal and insurance issues, public acceptance for connected and autonomous vehicles and the potential business models for turning automated driving systems into a widespread reality.

UK Autodrive was the largest of three separate consortia that trialled automated vehicle systems as part of the government’s “Introducing driverless cars to UK roads” competition. The project was jointly funded by government and industry, and delivered by the UK’s innovation agency, Innovate UK, with the total investment adding up to approximately £19.4 million. For more on the two other consortia that took part in the competition, see the Venturer and GATEway websites.

As part of the “Introducing driverless cars to UK roads” competition, the UK Autodrive programme helped to establish the UK as a global hub for the research, development and integration of automated and connected vehicles into society. We also used the programme to increase public awareness of autonomous vehicle and connected car technologies, and to enable cities to understand how they can best facilitate and benefit from automated transport systems.

Our consortium was made up of 15 members, all of whom had specific responsibilities and areas of expertise:

• Arup was the programme leader and technical co-ordinator
• Milton Keynes was the host city for the programme
• Coventry was the co-host city for the programme
• Jaguar Land Rover provided M1 (passenger car) vehicles and autonomous technologies
• Tata Motors European Technical Centre provided M1 vehicles and autonomous technologies
• Ford Motor Company provided two M1 prototype vehicles capable of car-to-x communication technologies
• RDM Group provided low-speed autonomous transport system (L-SATS) ‘pods’ along with telematics for the pods
• HORIBA MIRA provided proving-ground test facilities and led on safety case developments for the programme
• The Transport Systems Catapult led on the dissemination of the programme’s results
• Thales provided expertise on infrastructure systems and cyber-security
• AXA provided expertise on insurance matters relating to the introduction of autonomous vehicles
• The University of Cambridge undertook research on the large-scale impact of autonomous vehicles
• The University of Oxford provided expertise and research, particularly in regards to the future scalability of autonomous control systems
• The Open University provided a link to the ongoing MK:SMART programme
• Gowling WLG provided expertise on legal matters relating to the introduction of autonomous vehicles

We trialled automated vehicle and connected vehicle technologies using two distinct types of vehicle:

The first were ‘regular’ passenger vehicles (M1 classification) provided by Jaguar Land Rover, Ford Motor Company and Tata Motors European Technical Centre. These looked very much like the cars we are used to seeing on roads now, but featured increasingly advanced autonomous and connected vehicle communications systems. A total of seven M1 cars took part in the programme (three provided by Jaguar Land Rover and two each by Ford Motor Company and Tata Motors European Technical Centre).

The second type of vehicle were the low-speed electric-powered ‘pods’ provided by RDM Group. These were similar in appearance to the three pods trialled in Milton Keynes as part of the initial LUTZ Pathfinder project. By the end of the programme, a fleet of autonomous pods operated on pedestrianised sections of Milton Keynes.

The M1 vehicles were trialling technologies that offered ever-increasing levels of automation and driver assistance with the aim of reaching fully autonomous operation in some controlled circumstances. Some of the cars in the road-based trials were used to demonstrate car-to-car and car-to-infrastructure communications systems, rather than autonomous systems.

The pavement-based pods were designed to operate completely autonomously. By the end of the programme the pods demonstrated a small-scale public transport system in Milton Keynes. Earlier stages of the programme were used to trial and demonstrate capabilities that were required to deliver this service.

In the three-year timescale of UK Autodrive, all project vehicles contained an occupant who was responsible for the vehicle’s safe operation.

The electric-powered pod vehicles operating in pedestrianised areas of Milton Keynes were equipped with a wide range of sensors, including stereo cameras, LIDAR (laser-scanners) and ultrasonic obstacle detectors – as well as the computers required to process the incoming information and steer the pods. The M1 vehicles also employed a range of sensor, communication and positioning technologies. GPS and other space-based satellite navigation systems are not currently accurate or reliable enough to be used as primary sources of navigation data for automated transport systems. Satellite navigation systems was only used for non-essential applications.

The M1 vehicles travelled on public roads, alongside regular cars driven by the public, under controlled conditions for limited time periods in a demonstration environment. Trained operators were always at the wheel ready to take control of the cars if needed. The low-speed pods were designed to operate in pedestrianised areas and did not therefore operate on the highway, other than when crossing the road.

The precise roads and footpaths used were determined following discussions with Milton Keynes Council and Coventry City Council. The roads selected provided a mix of grid-based streets (in Milton Keynes) and more traditional urban road layouts (in both cities). The roads and road layouts were selected to publically demonstrate the capabilities of the vehicles within the project.

All of the vehicles used in the UK Autodrive programme were rigorously tested before being introduced onto public roads and footpaths. Robust safety cases were developed and refined as integral parts of the programme. In addition, a trained operator was at the wheel of all the road-based M1 cars for the duration of the autonomous vehicle trials – ready to take control of the vehicle if necessary. Trained operators were also inside the pavement-based pods, ready to take control if required.

As well as inviting members of the public to observe some of the trial days, we held regular information events in Milton Keynes and Coventry as well as publishing announcements and key findings from the programme on the UK Autodrive website. In addition, we ran a series of surveys, both in the host cities and around the world, to monitor changes in public opinion towards self-driving vehicles.

The pavement-based pods had a maximum capable speed of 24kmh (15mph) but were further limited electronically depending upon the environment they were travelling in (for example, moving more slowly in congested areas). The M1 cars had an operator at the wheel throughout the duration of the programme and drove within the regular speed limits of the roads being used for the trials.

The UK Autodrive programme got underway in November 2015 and ran for three years. There were several major milestones throughout the project, including the public road vehicle trials. In the last year of the programme, autonomous cars and pods became a regular sight on the streets and pavements of Coventry and Milton Keynes.

Key information and findings from the UK Autodrive programme was made readily available to the public, both via the media and directly on the UK Autodrive website. In addition, we held regular stakeholder workshops in the two host cities as well as distributing a free-subscription online newsletter. UK Autodrive representatives also attended and spoke at major conferences and events on connected and autonomous vehicles and related topics.

There are already many examples around the world of vehicles that have some element of ‘self-driving’ capability, including cars that are now on general sale with self-parking or adaptive cruise control functions. Several companies around the world are also developing vehicles that can operate in a highly automated state in certain relatively straightforward conditions – for example when moving in one-way traffic along a highway. The ultimate goal is to produce vehicles that can handle the complexity of full end-to-end journeys, including busy urban settings and remote rural roads.

UK Autodrive was one of three projects currently being co-funded by the UK government’s innovation agency, Innovate UK, with the aim of trialling and demonstrating the current capabilities of connected and autonomous vehicle technology, and assessing the requirements for further development. It is difficult to compare the advances being made in different countries, due to the often confidential nature of the research being undertaken, but the UK is clearly benefitting from strong industry and government support.

In the government’s 2018 Industrial Strategy, it highlighted the Future of Mobility as a Grand Challenge, with the aim of the UK becoming a world leader in shaping the future of mobility. Huge government investment is being made in developing the CAV/CAT sector, which is a fundamental part of future mobility, particularly as the focus moves towards reducing carbon emissions, supporting an aging population, reducing congestion, improving safety, and improving the customers’ experience.

The UK regulatory environment is very favourable, with the government recently releasing its Future of Mobility Grand Challenge. It is committing to a ‘light touch/non-regulatory approach to the testing and development of these technologies’, and plans to facilitate nationwide road testing. This framework will make the UK very attractive to autonomous system developers, as they will not have to negotiate differing and restricted rules across other nation’s roads.

The long-term benefits of automated transport systems are expected to be significant. Increased safety is one of the main factors, since human error is estimated to be responsible for more than 90% of today’s road accidents. Fully automated systems are also predicted to radically reduce the number of cars on the roads and produce cars that drive much more efficiently, leading to benefits for the environment as well as freeing up space currently used for parking. Once cars are able to drive without any human intervention at all, there will also be significant time savings as people are freed up from their hours currently spent at the wheel. Fully automated vehicles would also be accessible by people who cannot currently drive, for example due to age or disability.

There are still challenges to overcome in terms of technology and reliability, particularly when it comes to creating fully automated vehicles that can carry out complete door-to-door journeys in all driving scenarios. Even when the technology is deemed ready, there may still be potential legal hurdles as well as questions over insurance liability, cyber-security and public acceptance. All of these issues are being looked at as part of the UK Autodrive programme.

It is difficult to imagine a mass transportation system that can ever be 100% safe. Even with the superfast reactions of a computer, fully automated vehicles will still be constrained by the laws of physics when it comes to factors such as stopping distance. Nevertheless, automated vehicles should be capable of achieving much higher safety levels than conventional cars, due to their much faster reaction times and by removing the human errors that currently play a part in the vast majority of road traffic accidents.

Safe and reliable control systems are essential to the success of self-driving vehicles and any automated system will need to be designed to minimise the risk of unlawful access to essential controls. Within UK Autodrive, cyber-security is a significant part of both vehicle and infrastructure systems development. In common with many other modern systems, autonomous car security systems will need to evolve to deal with newly identified threats.

Several major players in the insurance industry have already identified automated vehicles as a potential disruptor for the conventional vehicle insurance market with many anticipating that fully automated vehicles would be subject to product liability insurance (potentially borne by either a vehicle manufacturer, software design firm or a combination of both) rather than drivers requiring personal insurance policies. In the event of an accident, an automated vehicle’s on-board logging equipment is also likely to make liability questions more straightforward than they are currently. Within UK Autodrive, AXA and Gowling WLG will be producing a series of white papers on societal and legal issues surrounding autonomous vehicles, including the aspects relating to privacy, cyber-security, liability and legislation.

As with the insurance sector, the arrival of fully automated vehicles is expected to have a disruptive effect on several industries and professions – including car manufacturers and professional drivers – but the scale of the impact will depend greatly on the extent and speed at which the technology is rolled out. Recent studies have also pointed out that the move towards fully automated vehicles is expected to create many additional jobs in several sectors either directly or indirectly related to this new technology.

Once we get to the stage where vehicles are fully automated (without the need for any human driver), the benefits for disabled users should be massive. Those who cannot currently drive at all (including the blind and visually impaired) will be able to go wherever they want without having to rely on existing forms of public transport, taxis or lifts from friends and family, while those who currently rely on adapted vehicles will, in future, be able to use the same automated cars as everybody else. As well as disabled people, self-driving cars could be used by the elderly and anyone else who is currently unable or unwilling to drive.

The pavement-based pod vehicles being used for UK Autodrive are being designed to allow wheelchair access, and will also include features to assist people with visual impairments.

The pods being trialled in Milton Keynes will use their sensors to move out of the way of pedestrians or come to a gentle stop if their way is blocked. The pods have also been designed to emit a humming noise to alert pedestrians that they are coming.

Conventional cars are expected to remain on public roads for decades to come, meaning that automated vehicles will have to share road-space with human drivers for the foreseeable future. It is possible that vehicles could be segregated – for example, having separate roads or lanes for self-driving vehicles – but creating specific infrastructure could prove costly and even unfeasible in countries where space is already at a premium. Ideally therefore, automated vehicles will be able to operate in conventional road traffic alongside regular human drivers.

The effect on congestion will depend a great deal on the speed at which fully automated vehicles enter the mainstream and the business models that accompany them. If people continue to want their own individual vehicle, the impact of self-driving vehicles will not be as dramatic as the scenario in which people can call up automated transport as and when they need it. UK Autodrive will carry out research to further investigate the possible effects on congestion, but one study carried out by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, using transport data provided by Singapore, suggested that the Southeast Asian state could reduce the number of cars on its streets by a third by adopting automated vehicle technology. A 2015 OECD report based on car usage in Lisbon suggested that a city-wide self-driving taxi service combined with high capacity public transport could reduce the number of cars on the roads by anything up to 90%. As well as leading to a reduction in the total number of cars, automated vehicles are expected to drive more efficiently and are also increasingly likely to be fitted with electric motors (due to their ability to dock and recharge themselves in between pick-ups), all of which should combine to lessen the amount of harmful emissions released into the environment.

For the foreseeable future, “driverless” cars will still require the presence of a human passenger who is capable of taking back control of the vehicle if necessary. In the longer term, it is hoped that fully automated vehicles will be able to operate without any human assistance – potentially benefiting disabled users, those who are too young or too old to drive, and also those who find themselves over the drink-driving limit…

There are no signs of humans being banned from driving anytime in the foreseeable future. In fact, the most immediate scenarios for automated driving are on single-direction highways and in traffic jams – when the driving experience is usually at its least enjoyable – leaving drivers free to still enjoy the pleasures of an open road. As we move towards fully automated systems, people are likely to be given the choice as to when they want to drive, and when they wish to let the car take the strain.

Cars are already available with increasing levels of automation, even if they only offer options such as parking assistance or adaptive cruise control. Putting an exact date on the arrival of highly- or fully-automated vehicles is difficult due to a number of remaining issues including technological readiness, legal frameworks, insurance, security and public acceptance. It also remains to be seen whether fully-automated vehicles will be “bought” by individuals or rather used on a book-when-needed basis.

As mentioned elsewhere in these FAQs, self-driving vehicles should help to reduce our reliance on individually owned cars and should be seen as complementary to public transport – or even blurring the lines between private and public transport. Buses and trains will continue to be useful on popular routes and may themselves also operate increasingly without drivers. A truly efficient automated transport system would eventually link up bus and train networks with individual cars and pods – allowing people to move effortlessly wherever they want to go and regardless of the types of vehicle that get them there.