Coventry University to play key role in the city’s new self-driving technology trial

Credit: Coventry University

Coventry University has announced that it will be playing a key role in an extensive new trial of self-driving technology on the city’s streets through the £15.2 million Multi-Area Connected Automated Mobility (MACAM) Project, which will begin within Coventry city centre and at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in around 18 months’ time.

The project is led by Conigital and Coventry University is one of a number of collaborating organisations that is involved, including Coventry City Council, Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council, Warwick Manufacturing Group, dRisk, IPG Automotive UK, Direct Line Group (insurance) and the NEC.

Coventry University’s role is to develop strategies that aim to provide secure and efficient operation of self-driving vehicles that can be safely controlled in multiple locations by remote operators in a control room, using a 5G-based, Remote Monitoring and Tele-Operation (RMTO) service.

Furthermore, the university also plans to use the vehicles to operate an internal mail service across its city centre locations, using purpose-built self-driving light vans, while using its expertise in cyber security to ensure their safety and reliability.

Coventry University launches £20 million National Centre for Accessible Transport

As part of the trial, a drive will initially be present within the vehicles but eventually it is anticipated that they will be unmanned and monitored completely remotely. The university’s ultimate goal from the project is to show that the technology can be put into commercial use.

“We were chosen to take part in this project because it is recognised that we have expertise in studying human factors and in cyber security in the field of self-driving vehicles. Our work on this is all about demonstrating the technology will work in real-world settings and providing that evidence for those who want to further develop self-driving technology. Coventry was the site of some of the UK’s early self-driving trials and we have a history of running safe road trials,” said Kevin Vincent, Director of Coventry University’s Centre for Connected and Autonomous Automotive Research.

The MACAM Project is just one of a number of projects exploring self-driving technology to recently have been awarded a share of £81 million in funding from Government and private industry as part of the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles Connected and Automated Mobility programme.

“There is a defined legal driver of any vehicle but what we’re doing is taking that person out from behind a steering wheel and putting them in a control room. We want to explore the human factors involved and how control of a vehicle is passed over to an operator at specific points in a journey, for example where there may be a particularly difficult section of a trip that needs negotiating. We want to show this technology works within real-world settings, not just on a test track,” said Professor Stewart Birrell, Professor of Human Factors for Future Transport at Coventry University.