Project overview

As technology advances, self-driving vehicles will begin to appear on our roads, providing environmentally-friendly shuttle services that bring a number of benefits for passengers and society at large. To function effectively, the vehicles will require uninterrupted communications to ensure they maintain full awareness of the environment around them, to support their autonomous decision-making and to ensure absolute safety for the service as they travel along the different routes.

Today, it is difficult to provide these types of connections quickly and in a way that does not disrupt others as the new connectivity is deployed and other services are added. This project will address this by creating a 'plug-and-play' roadside connectivity solution allowing many different services, including self-driving shuttles and robotic and drone-based services to operate and maintain their connections wherever they go. We will also introduce other features that connect the vehicles with other road users, including drivers, scooter users and vulnerable pedestrians and with traffic lights and other road-side signals and sensors to ensure a totally integrated travel ecosystem that places safety at its heart.

Our solution will be used as part of a live, self-driving shuttle service in Milton Keynes that will carry passengers through the city to a range of destinations. The service will be a pilot for the Milton Keynes City Autotram, which will provide environmentally-friendly self-driving shuttle connections for the most popular routes across the city.

To deliver this vision, the project brings together world leaders in communications and self-driving, including Dell, Vodafone and Ohmio, who have safely deployed their self-driving vehicles in a range of global settings. The project has the full backing of Milton Keynes City Council and the project will be led by Smart City Consultancy who have successfully delivered multiple Smart City projects over many years.

The new world-leading connectivity product we will create will be designed, developed, produced and manufactured in the UK, and we intend to market and sell this on the global stage. We are committed to investing in a strong UK-based supply chain, that will strengthen the UK's position in these global markets, drive new exports and create new, local, high-skill, high-tech, high-value jobs in new and innovative technologies, building on the UK's well-established reputation as a leader in communications and automotive markets.