ServCity, a UK-based autonomous mobility service research project, says it has reached an important milestone and begun its testing phase on the streets of London.
After months of development, simulation and testing on private test tracks, the project has now reached the stage where the ServCity connected and autonomous vehicle (CAV) can be tested in London at the Smart Mobility Living Lab (SMLL) in Greenwich. Built on an electric Nissan Leaf, the ServCity CAV will be put through its paces and tested in the heart of the UK capital, a complex urban environment. ServCity says it will be leveraging the full capabilities of the SMLL by using its roadside sensors and processing power to create a cooperative infrastructure environment, which will add to the CAV’s own situational awareness.
Through a combination of test simulation, end-user experience research and real-world trials, ServCity is hoping to inform how cities can exploit the potential of future mobility solutions and accelerate their deployment. Concentrating on the three key areas of technology, people and scalability, the project aims to ensure the user experience is as intuitive, inclusive and engaging as possible.
According to Edward Mayo, a program manager at the Connect Places Catapult, which is a project member, “The Connected Places Catapult supports organizations in harnessing emerging technologies and developing new services. ServCity is a perfect example of how we can use this approach to deploy autonomous vehicles on a wide scale to achieve the aim of intelligent mobility and improve the movement of both people and goods. The commencement of testing in London represents an important milestone to the ServCity project.”