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Driverless technology receives government grant

Posted: 24 April 2017 | Intelligent Transport | No comments yet

Business Secretary Greg Clark has announced that driverless technology will receive an Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF) grant.

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Business Secretary, Greg Clark, has announced that driverless technology will receive an Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF) grant within the next four years.

technology

This grant is to encourage the UK’s reputation as a world-leader in driverless car technology – a sector predicted to be worth £63 billion by 2035. The government will be investing £38 million in new collaborative research and development projects, working with industry partners to develop the next generation of AI and control systems.

“The UK is home to some of the world’s best innovators at the very forefront of global excellence,” Greg Clark commented. “The funding I am announcing today, providing hundreds of millions of pounds of support to develop the next generation of technologies across a range of sectors, shows our determination and commitment to making sure the UK remains at the very forefront of research innovation for years to come.”

With three of the chosen projects under the driverless cars stream of ISCF supported by experts from TRL, the global centre for innovation in transport and mobility continues to play an instrumental role in securing the UK’s position at the forefront of advanced vehicle technologies.

The association in which TRL will be involved include DRIVEN – an ambitious project that will see a fleet of fully autonomous vehicles being deployed in urban areas and on motorways, culminating in an end-to-end journey from London to Oxford. A key area of focus will be the development of an automated system to radically transform how insurance and autonomous vehicles will work together in connected cities.

“We continue to see a major industry shift towards automation, connectivity and electrification of vehicles, and the use of shared mobility schemes,” said Rob Wallis, CEO at TRL. “Such market disruption is transforming the way people will travel, especially in cities, and it is vital that the UK remains at the forefront of this development.”