Dates have been announced for a trial-run of cutting-edge autonomy technology from Conigital, which will see autonomous cars tested on Coventry’s roads in collaboration with Coventry City Council, Coventry University, Applus IDIADA.

The project, called Safely Advancing Vehicle Automation On Roads (SAVOR), is part of the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV)’s ‘Advancing Safely to Full Autonomy’ initiative. It will use 5G technology, remote monitoring and tele-operation to help overcome automotive vehicle edge cases.

Councillor Jim O’Boyle, cabinet member for jobs, regeneration and climate change, said:

“This is groundbreaking transport innovation happening right here in our city, and I’m pleased that the council has backed this project and that companies like Conigital, want to innovate right here in our city.  Projects like this are ensuring Coventry’s automotive future is as bright as its past and are an example of the world-leading expertise being pioneered in our city through its universities and businesses.

“It comes alongside our work to bring the West Midlands Gigafactory to Coventry and our ambitious on-road charge point programme – electrification hand-in-hand with automation. And on public transport, we’re leading Coventry Very Light Rail, All Electric Bus City and Urban Air-Port among many other projects to ensure Coventry leads the green industrial revolution.”

The trial will use Conigital’s proprietary vehicle automation technology platform (ConiCAV™) to undertake a trial in the last two weeks of March (21 March to 31 March) in Coventry city centre, providing a demonstration of the potential use of the technology to support the deployment of connected automated vehicles onto public roads. The trial will start and end at Gosford Street, progressing across Coventry’s innovative diamond junction (the Gosford St. and Cox St. intersection), which is considered a particularly challenging scenario for automated vehicles to overcome.

The trial will utilise a dedicated 5G network to enable remote operators to oversee the vehicles and undertake manoeuvres if required.

The vehicles will also have on-board operators who are fully able to take control of the vehicles at any time, providing an additional safety assurance.

Conigital and the project members are appreciative of the funding provided by CCAV, without which the SAVOR project would not be possible.

For further information about this project please visit https://savor-cav.com/

ABOUT CONIGITAL:

Formed in 2015, Conigital are a Driverless AI scaleup who connect and automate transport in some of the world’s busiest and most complex environments. This is done by offering a complete turnkey driverless vehicle deployment targeting a £907 billion connected autonomous (“CAV”) market.  Conigital are lead partners in the International Connected Autonomous Vehicle (ICAV) Cluster (www.icavcluster.com) bringing together major movers and shakers in this emerging industry. Accessibility, independence and inclusivity for the visually impaired, less abled and the aged sit at the heart of all we do.

ABOUT IDIADA:

Applus IDIADA is an engineering company with more than 30 years of experience in vehicle development, providing design, engineering, testing and homologation services to the automotive industry worldwide. With its headquarters and main technical centre near Barcelona in Spain, the company has subsidiaries in 22 countries, a team of more than 2,700 highly specialised professionals and state-of-the-art testing and development facilities.

Applus IDIADA is present in the UK since 2011, providing an extensive range of testing and engineering services in the fields of brake testing and development, in market vehicle fleet validation and data collection, electronics, ADAS, connected and automated vehicle development and vehicle certification.

ABOUT COVENTRY UNIVERSITY:

Coventry University is a global, modern university with a mission of Creating Better Futures. We were founded by entrepreneurs and industrialists in 1843 as the Coventry School of Design and we continue to have strong links with the public and private sector, providing job-ready graduates with the skills and creative thinking to improve their communities.

With a proud tradition of innovative teaching and learning, Coventry University has world-class campus facilities, the UK’s first standalone 5G network and a digital community of learning. Our students are part of a global network that has 50,000 learners studying Coventry University degrees in more than 40 different countries and collaborations with 150 higher education providers worldwide.

We have greatly increased our research capacity and ability with a focus on impactful research, delivered for and with organisations, to address real-world challenges and support business and communities to develop and grow.

Over two centuries, we have flourished in Coventry and Coventry University Group now also delivers access to our range of high-quality services and collaborations  through bases in London, Scarborough, Belgium, Poland, Egypt, Dubai, Singapore and Africa.