The UK has grand plans for driverless cars. The government wants the country to be "at the forefront" of self-driving cars and it believes the industry in the UK will be worth £28 billion in the next 17 years.
As a result, proposals for autonomous car insurance laws have been created; there are codes of practice for the testing of autonomous vehicles; and numerous trials have popped up across the country.
All the autonomous vehicles and the technologies within them that are being tested in the UK rank differently on the levels of self-driving cars. Autonomous vehicles are categorised on six abilities – from no automation, to fully automated. Find out what the levels of automation for cars are here.
In 2018, the UK government said it wanted autonomous cars to be in use commercially by 2021. It's also set out plans for a new code of practice that would support tests without human drivers, albeit decided on a case-by-case basis to ensure safety.
Here's a breakdown of all the tests and planned tests happening in the UK. If there's some we've missed, let us know and we'll add them to the test.
Many of the self-driving car tests taking place in the UK are being conducted by large manufacturers. One of these taking part is Volvo. The firm has revealed it is planning to put its autonomous vehicles on the road in West London during 2017. This will be as part of the Drive Me trial and involve an adapted XC90. The 4x4 vehicles have already been trialled in Gothenburg, Sweden and involved members of the public who have volunteered to be driven around.
University of Oxford spinout Oxbotica is providing hardware for a number of the trials around the UK. These include working with shopping delivery firm Ocado to create an autonomous shopping delivery system, trialled in Greenwich.
As part of Oxbotica's work, it is attempting to run a large scale driving demonstration on the UK's motorways between Oxford and London.
Supported by £8.9m in funding, the scheme has created the vehicles it will use (pictured above) and plans to drive from Oxford to London in 2019. Until then it will test the vehicle on a test track during 2017, then start closed road trials in Oxfordshire at the start of 2018. By June 2018, the consortium hopes to have built six cars and be testing them alongside other road users.
A Jaguar Land Rover, Ford and Tata Motors collaboration, in a scheme called Autodrive, has demonstrated how vehicles can communicate to pass on information about what lies on the road ahead. Initial tests have been completed in Nuneaton and the systems will be tested on public streets in Coventry and Milton Keynes later in 2017.
Autodrive comprises of three main systems: an emergency vehicle warning technology, intersection collision warning, and in-vehicle signage. All of the systems work in a similar way; the car alerts a driver, either using sound or visual images, about the upcoming conditions.
Jaguar Landrover is testing a level four autonomous vehicle, it has been revealed. The Land Rover Range Rover Sport is able to, at least in theory, handle itself in almost all situations. A human driver is still needed to sit behind the wheel in case anything goes wrong but the vehicle is being tested away from public roads at the firm's test site near Nuneaton. According to AutoDrive, the vehicle is able to navigate roundabouts and complicated junctions.
The grid-like system of Milton Keynes' roads makes it ideal for self-driving car tests. But before the vehicles are put on the roads they're being tested on the pavements of the city. Since October 2016 small pods small pods have been run around the city's shopping area.
These have been used to ferry passengers between locations and generally travel at speeds below 15mph. There are plans for 40 of the small vehicles to be travelling around the city in 2017 after the test started successfully.
The London Borough has been the scene for a number of self-driving trials. As part of the GATEway scheme it's planned there'll be four test trials of different types of autonomous vehicles.
So far, more than 100km of self-driving has been completed near the Millennium Dome and the Greenwich Peninsular. This has included test driving and also public trials.
In April 2017, autonomous shuttles started to potter along a footpath next to the river. These pods were adapted from semi-autonomous versions used at Heathrow airport. The area has also seen a demonstration of how disabled drivers can use autonomous technologies to control a vehicle when they are not inside of it.
Most recently, the Oxbotica technology being used has been adapted to fit in an autonomous 'milk float' that's delivered shopping to those living in a Woolwich estate. Around 100 shopping deliveries have been made during a two week test.
Nissan has tested its autonomous Leaf vehicle on London's streets. The vehicle, which is guided by radars, lasers, and cameras, was tested around East London's Beckton. As the car makes turnings in the roads its onboard navigation systems use speakers to inform the passengers of its plans.
According to The Guardian not everything went smoothly with the Leaf's tests. It had problems at roundabouts – with Nissan's staff member having to grab the steering wheel and hit the breaks.
Bristol
The VENTURER consortium is testing vehicles in the Bristol and South Gloucestershire areas. The test period is due to run for three years and primarily will use the BAE Systems Wildcat autonomous jeep. It has been in testing since the Summer of 2016 and will continue to be used until 2019.
Not all autonomous cars are being designed to carry people. The UK based Roborace is developing a self-driving racing car that's planned to be used in a global series, alongside Formula E. A development car and full race car have been developed and they've been demonstrated on a number of the world's racetracks.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
