UK reveals £20m driverless vehicle competition

The UK Government has announced an investment of £20m (~€28m) in R&D projects to encourage advances in autonomous vehicles and connected transport systems.

The competition is targeted towards co-operative projects and will also provide funding to feasibility studies. The funding will be delivered by Innovate UK on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).

According to BIS, the contest ‘aims to encourage development of connected and autonomous vehicles, focusing on three themes – connectivity, autonomy and customer interaction – along with catalysing new business models.’ The competition builds upon a co-operative research scheme of the government, namely ‘Introducing driverless cars to UK roads’.

Bids must be led by business and include a number of different partners. Firms of all sizes can be involved and there is an emphasis on industrial R&D.

Registration for the competition closes on 23 September and submissions can be made until 30 September. More details can be found here and a briefing on the investment will take place in London next week.