The UK government has launched a project that could see electric cargo bikes, vans, quadricycles and micro vehicles replacing delivery vans in UK cities.
The Future of Mobility Grand Challenge aims to make the UK a world leader in the movement of goods, services and people, according to the Department for Transport.
Two consultations – the Last Mile and Future of Mobility – will explore how new forms of transportation can improve deliveries and urban mobility.
For example, improved sensors, increased computing power and artificial intelligence are leading to increased automation in transport. The government has already said it expects to see fully self-driving cars on UK roads by 2021 and the benefits of automated transport could include increased safety, improved accessibility and better use of urban space.
As part of the Future of Mobility Grand Challenge, the government has confirmed £12.1m of funding for six simulation and modelling projects for connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs). They are:
- OmniCAV – A testing certification tool that can be used by accreditation bodies, insurers and manufacturers to accelerate the development of CAVs
- COSMOS – A simulation project to reduce sensor interference in traffic and improve safety
- VeriCAV – A simulation test system with automated generation of scenarios and realistic virtual actors
- D-RISK – A novel scenario generator incorporating edge case scenarios to virtually validate a CAV’s decision making and qualify risk
- Simulation of Complex Off-Road Environments — Developing off-road simulation environments, aiming to reduce the cost of deploying autonomous vehicles on farms
- Sim4SafeCAV – Using simulation to demonstrate safety for SAE level 4 autonomous vehicles
“A transport revolution in the way people and goods move around will see more changes in the next 10 years than the previous 100,” said Ian Robertson, Future of Mobility Business Champion.
Tags: electric car, electric transportation, electric vehicles, Future Living, Transport
