Autonomous vehicle project concludes in London

Project Endeavour – an autonomous vehicle (AV) programme designed to test real-world conditions – concluded in London this week, with 70 members of the public taking part in on-road demonstrations.

Over the course of two weeks, the Oxbotica vehicles were tested, with participants’ perceptions of AV safety analysed by consortium partner DG Cities.

The trials were run in conjunction with the London Borough of Greenwich, and followed previous events in Oxford and Birmingham.

“The London demonstration concludes the on-road trials phase of Project Endeavour,” said Trevor Dorling, Managing Director, DG Cities.

“The results of the project will enable the partners to further advance the deployment of AV services safely and at scale, addressing some of the major transport challenges cities face today and in the future.

“[The public’s] feedback will give us valuable insights on how we need to keep adapting both the technology and its deployment in cities in years to come.”

Virtual reality

The vehicles, integrated with Oxbotica’s autonomy software platform, completed a five-mile urban route around Greenwich streets, giving partners the opportunity to model the complex and busy network and exposing the vehicle to varied traffic and weather conditions.

Participants were accompanied by two members of the trial team, and were required to present a negative COVID-19 test (lateral flow or PCR) and wear a face covering before entering the vehicle.

The event also offered the public a virtual reality experience to explore what it’s like to be in an AV as it moves through a typical urban setting.

“It’s incredible to see just how far the technology has come since I last took a ride several years ago, when the vehicles were first trialled at the O2,” said Danny Thorpe, Leader of the Royal Borough of Greenwich.

“It’s so exciting that Royal Greenwich has played such an integral part of these trials. To date, autonomous vehicles have been seen as something for the distant future. But we have the technology needed to change the future of mobility and make driverless cars a reality.”

Launched in March 2019, Project Endeavour is one of the UK’s first multi-city demonstrations of autonomous vehicle services and capabilities.

The Endeavour consortium, which is part-funded by the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV) and delivered in partnership with Innovate UK, is being led by Oxbotica, in collaboration with DG Cities, Immense, TRL, BSI, and Oxfordshire County Council.

Image: Royal Borough of Greenwich