BBC Focus - 03.2020

INNOVATIONSDISCOVERIES

GMCruiseOrigin

Thisis thefirstdriverlesscarwe’veseenthat
hopestoruntestswithout a steering wheel or
pedals.First,General
Motorsjusthasto
convincea city
authoritytoletit
loose on their streets.

OptimusRide

LastyearthisMITstart-uplaunchedthe

firstautonomouspod service in New York.

Thevehiclesferry

passengersaroundthe

BrooklynNavyYard,a

300-acreindustrialpark

with 10,000 employees.

Toyotae-Palette

Likeanairportmini-bus,only

withouta driverwho’s had three

hourssleep,the

e-Palettewillshuttle

athletesandstaff

aroundtheTokyo

Olympics.

WHATISIT?Thisis a glimpseofwhereJaguarLand

Rover(JLR),andothercarmanufacturers,thinkthe

futureofurbanmotoringis going.ProjectVectoris

anautonomousshuttle(albeitwitha steeringwheel

andpedals,justincase)thatwillferrystudents

aroundWarwickUniversity’scampussometime

thisyear,eventuallytakingpassengers all the way

intoCoventrycitycentreby2021.

Thevehicleusesa skateboardchassis– a simple

four-metrelongplatformwithwheels– thatcanbe

configuredtosupportdifferentbodies,poweredby

anelectricmotor.Fornow,thecaris a six-seater

pod,witha topspeedof30mphanda driverat the

wheeltohelpoutintheearlystages.Butthebody

couldbeswappedoutaltogether, to become a

inner-citydeliveryvehicle.

WHY’SITIMPORTANT?Admittedly,mostconcept

carsrarelymakeit totherealworld.Buthere’swhy

ProjectVectoris big.Forthemostpart,autonomous

carshavegottenprettygoodat learningtodrive.But

inthefuture,carcompanieslikeJLRanticipatethat

as well as not wantingtodrive,manypeoplewon’t

wanttoowna careither.

Urbanpopulationsmaycome

torelyonfleetsofautonomous

carsferryingthemaround

citycentresinstead.If that

happens,themostpopular

serviceswillbetheonesthat

getusfromA to B most

efficiently.

Thisisn’tjustbadnewsfor

Taxidrivers.Thesefleetsof

self-drivingcarswillneed

software that can learn to

anticipatedemand(likewhenthere’sa football

match),avoidtraffic,andknowwhereandwhento

rechargeitsbattery.Thisnextphaseoflearning

needstohappenif autonomouscarsaretomakeour

livesbetter,notworse.Especiallyif youdon’twant

themunintentionallymakingcongestionworse as

theycoastaroundtown looking for a fare or

somewheretopark.

WHAT’SNEXT?Thisis allpartofJLR’sDestination

Zeromission:zerocarbon,zeroaccidentsandzero

congestion.It’sa loftymissionfroma companythat

makesbigSUVs,butJaguarhavebeenheavily

investinginelectriccartech,evensettingupits

ownsingleseriesmotorsportaroundtheI-Pace.

Andasbansonnewpetrolanddieselcarscomeinto

effectacrossEuropeat earlierandearlierdates,this

justseemslikejudicious planning by the UK’s

biggestcarcompany.

BUTI DON’TLIKEPODS...JLRaren’ttheonlyoneto

trialthisapproachtoanautonomousfleet.Earlier

thisyear,GeneralMotorsunveiledtheCruise

Origin,anautonomous‘peoplemover’thatwill

carrypeoplearoundcities,onlythiscarhasno

steeringwheelorpedals,andnowayfora humanto

takeover,meaningit willneedspecialexemptions

fromlocalgovernmentstobegintesting.

Meanwhile,lastOctoberinLondon,a more

familiar-lookingFordMondeofittedwith

autonomoustechbeganfeelingouttheCaptial’s

roads.Thetrialwascarriedoutbya UKtechfirm

calledOxbotica,andwasthefirstofitskind.This

summer,thecompanyhopesit canbegina trialofa

ride-sharingtaxiservicetogetherwiththecab

company Addison Lee. Who wants a go?

ProjectVectorwillruna fleetofupto 20 ‘pods’ that will ferry students around

Warwick University’s campus and beyond...

Jaguar Land Rover trials autonomous

car fleet in Coventry

FIRSTLOOK

�

ProjectVectoris on

trackforanon-road

pilotprogrammeas

early as next year

INVASIONOF THEPOD PEOPLE CARRIERS