Railtalk
When the stock market valuation of Tesla surpassed that of General Motors in April, it became clear that the financial markets consider the transport sector is on the threshold of a great upheaval. Elon Musk’s vision of autonomously-driven electric Tesla cars is plainly a seductive one, and with the speed of change in the tech sector it could arrive faster than we imagine.
Nissan demonstrated an autonomously-driven car on the public roads of east London in March, albeit with a person at the controls ready to step in should it be required (and reportedly it was required a few times). Google, too, is looking to develop self-driving cars through its Waymo offshoot.
British companies are also seeking to ride the wave. The UK government is sponsoring three autonomous vehicle projects, one in Greenwich, another in Bristol and a third with test sites in both Milton Keynes and Coventry.
The one in Greenwich is starting trials with passengers this spring – initially with people that have registered interest on a website, but later with a wider public. Co-ordinated by the TRL consultancy and using vehicles from the Westfield sports car company with software from Oxford University spin-off Oxbotica, the …
