Public Funding for SBD Automotive Ltd

NextAD project will advance the UK supply chain by applying Autonomous Drive System technologies within urban residential roads and rural roads as demand for service and commercialisation grows. By utilising Autonomous Vehicle functionality, we can deliver a safer and securer drive for its occupants, whilst offering a commercially viable platform. This will allow for the UK OEMs and supply chain to target early commercial self-driving vehicle opportunities by solving current and real-world technological challenges in the UK. Consequently, this will reveal technology gaps in the UK which can then be exploited by the UK supply chain By providing specifications, NextAD will support the anchoring of capability in the UK by building a supply chain ecosystem with aligned objectives, and visibility of performance requirements and needs of OEMs and their multi- operational design domains autonomous drive systems. This will ultimately lead to increased economic performance, highly skilled jobs growth and competitiveness for the UK. The OEM involved in the project will be able to deliver autonomous drive systems and technologies supported by a UK supply chain, manufactured in a plant based in the UK securing skills and jobs in the UK for years to come. Additionally, supplier partners will solve key technological barriers which are preventing mass commercialisation, by using their expertise in Cyber Security, Interoperability, Pedestrian interaction, and other previous knowledge of how autonomous drive systems works.

"The ultimate aim of ServCity is to reduce private car journeys in urban areas by providing a reliable autonomous mobility service. By doing so, the consortium aims to solve urban challenges around congestion and emissions and, propose a blueprint for future Automated Mobility Services (AMS). This project demonstrates UK capabilities and technologies to a global audience by bringing together two globally recognised British business champions and builds on UK's academic and Connected and Automated Vehicle (CAV) expertise to deliver a novel, economically sustainable business model for London - the UK megacity. The service will be developed with an ultimate aim of offering fully automated vehicles (SAE Level 5) as part of flexible urban mobility. However, this project will explore the concepts through pilot testing SAE Level 4 vehicles aided by simulation and modelling."

The Multi-Car Collision Avoidance (MuCCA) Project will develop a multi-car collision avoidance system that aims to reduce the occurrence and consequences (injuries and damage) of multi-car collisions on motorways. The technologies developed and used will be very similar to those that will be included within a fully autonomous vehicle including sensor systems, machine learning, vehicle-to-vehicle communications and vehicle control systems. To support the system development the project will also configure, integrate and develop a number of simulation tools to create a vehicle automation modelling and test environment that will facilitate a more rapid development of automated vehicles. This environment will include a human driver model to allow simulation and collision avoidance prediction of ordinary non-equipped vehicle paths, so that this technology provides immediate real-world benefits on today's roads. The technology, systems and tools being developed will be readily adaptable to the broader vehicle automation domain, facilitating a significant evolutionary step in vehicle cooperation and automated driving development in the UK.

The project will build an autonomous vehicle with human like, natural control / path planning, by 2019, that 1) is able to be fully autonomous on country roads, when overtaking, on roundabouts and/ or motorways 2) mimics the driving behaviour of human beings, to provide an enhanced experiences for the occupants. Nissan and Hitachi will use their global automotive, artificial intelligence/ machine learning and communication technology expertise to build vehicles and AI models that are fit for purpose, and use the expertise of Horiba MIRA, Cranfield University and the University of Leeds to ensure the system is validated and end-user acceptance is evaluated. Atkins and SBD will address protective security, making the vehicle digitally and physically secure. The Transport Systems Catapult will be responsible for project management and development of safety aspects of the project. The impact of L4 vehicles on the Strategic Road Network will be explored through work by Highways England and TSS. Highways England and Milton Keynes Council will provide support to the demonstration route of the vehicle.