The Government has awarded more than £4 million to a Bosch-led project which will invest a total of £8m to accelerate the development and deployment of connected and automated vehicles.

Bosch is leading a consortium to create a facility for the exchange of data which will be critical to the future of mobility.

The investment will enable the UK to capture the benefits of connected and automated vehicles sooner, it said.

The UK Government competition, through its dedicated Meridian Mobility organisation, recognises that the success of our future mobility depends on the successful collection, aggregation, analysis and, critically, sharing of data. This includes sensor data which allows automated vehicles to determine their location, or data that enables a city authority to determine how to improve its transport network.

Data sharing is difficult, especially for organisations that do not have the resource or capability to make datasets available, said Bosch.

Project lead for Bosch, Professor Nick Reed, head of mobility R&D at Bosch UK, explained: “We all recognise that there is tremendous value to be gained in the sharing of data to support the development and deployment of connected and automated vehicles.

“We also know there is significant global competition to deliver the future mobility systems which will revolutionise the movement of people and goods around the world.

“By developing safe and secure protocols for the commercial sharing of data for CAVs, we expect to accelerate technology research and development, support start-up organisations in developing new businesses based on this data, and deliver insights for the public sector in how to optimise current and future transportation systems.”

Business secretary Greg Clark added: “Self-driving cars will revolutionise the way we move goods and people around the UK. These Industrial Strategy projects and investments are exciting examples of our long-term plan in action - ensuring we build on our strengths to reap the rewards as we accelerate towards our ambition to have autonomous vehicles on UK roads by 2021. 

“Autonomous vehicles and their technology will not only revolutionise how we travel, it will open up and improve transport services for those who struggle to access both private and public transport.   

“The UK is building on its automotive heritage and strengths to develop the new vehicles and technologies and from 2021 the public will get to experience the future for themselves.”

The winning proposal, entitled ConVEx (Connected Vehicle data Exchange) led by Bosch, includes Jaguar Land Rover, Transport for West Midlands, WMG, and three SMEs: Valerann, Synaptiv and Immense Solutions.

Interdigital and Transport Systems Catapult will both support the consortium in their role as subcontractors.

The facility is to be headquartered on the WMG campus with a partner office at Bosch’s recently announced ‘Connectory’ facility in London.

These two sites align with Meridian’s real world connected and automated testbed facilities – Midlands Future Mobility and the Smart Mobility Living Lab: London.

The facility will be developed over the course of 2019 with commercial data sharing operations commencing in 2020.

 

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