BBC’s Richard Westcott, Compere, UK Autodrive International CAV Conference

Richard’s been a BBC TV and radio reporter for two decades. Over that time he’s spent many an hour being driven around in robotic cars, from the earliest days on test tracks to the current vehicles being tested on Britain’s streets today. He was also the first journalist to try out Volvo’s autonomous system on the streets of Gothenburg and he filmed critical research in Southampton, into how humans react when they suddenly have to take back control of their autonomous car.

For the past five years, Richard was the BBC’s Transport Correspondent, winning the CILT transport journalist of the year. He’s now switched to science and technology, so he’s still finding an excuse to film anything with a computer and an engine. His career highlights also include exclusive interviews with the sister of the pilot flying MH370, the Malaysian aircraft that vanished, an exclusive trip to the Californian desert to speak to one of the pilots flying the Virgin Galactic spaceplane, flying a Hawk jet with the Royal Navy and flying drones along London’s Crossrail tunnels to get a drivers’ eye view of the new line. You’ll spot the theme here. Richard’s what you might call a transport enthusiast.