LONDON – A three-year trial run of driverless cars in south-east London has been a success, researchers have said. The researchers claim that they have proven that it can work safely in the city environment. Nissan company spokesmen, who were the researchers, said there were zero crashes during 1,600 miles of testing around Woolwich town centre. But it will be years before driverless vehicles go on sale.
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The researchers fitted electric Nissan Leaf cars with roof cameras, radar and GPS devices and six computers in the boot to enable them to navigate safely. An engineer was always in the driving seat during the tests to intervene if necessary. The £10.7m Servicity project ended the trial after it was discovered that driverless vehicles could make real-time adjustments to their paths.
According to the government’s requirements, the researchers have submitted a report that driverless vehicles can be put on the road. But current UK law only allows driverless vehicles to be put on the road for research purposes. The researchers hope to publish a government consultation later this year paving the way for driverless vehicles.
Matthew Ewing, vice president of vehicle engineering at Nissan’s European Technical Center, said the project aims to make car transport cleaner, safer and more inclusive, enabling disabled and elderly people to travel without driving, and to pave the way for robo-taxi services in rural areas poorly served by public transport.
English Summary: UK moves toward driverless car tests without safety drivers