CAVForth success: The UK’s first self-driving bus service

The UK’s first self-driving bus service: AB1 in Scotland

Congratulations to all involved in the CAVForth project. The UK’s first self-driving bus service (with a safety driver) is up and running – operating, according to the Stagecoach Bus website, a “frequent timetable from Monday 15th May with the capacity for around 10,000 passenger journeys per week”.

Officially still a trial, a fleet of five Alexander Dennis Enviro200AV buses will travel at up to 50mph from Ferrytoll Park & Ride in Fife to Edinburgh Park Transport Interchange – crossing the iconic Forth Road Bridge.

Self-driving success

When we interviewed Jim Hutchinson, CEO of Fusion Processing – the company behind the CAVstar software platform – back in 2021, he predicted that CAVForth would put the UK on the self-driving map. And it has.

Scotland’s Transport Minister, Kevin Stewart, and Ray O’Toole, Executive Chairman for Stagecoach, were among those at the media launch, with David Webb, Head of Innovation at the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV), heralding it “a global first”.

The local Dunfermline Press carried this great video of CAVForth in action.

CAVForth self-driving bus

Future expansion

What next? In February, we reported that CAVForth2 had won a healthy share of £81m in combined government and industry funding in the Commercialising Connected and Automated Mobility competition.

Alexander Dennis have confirmed that the project will extend the existing 14-mile route, taking it on to Dunfermline city centre. The additional five-mile section will feature more complex driving scenarios on busy A and B roads, including mixing with city centre traffic.

We still have the words of Jim Hutchinson ringing in our ears: “We developed the CAVstar platform as a scalable solution – a drive system we could put into pretty much any vehicle, from small cars up to HGV.”

Pictured L-R: Jim Hutchinson, CEO Fusion, Scottish Transport Minister, Kevin Stewart, Regional Director Stagecoach, Sam Greer, and Alexander Dennis President and Managing Director, Paul Davies.

New self-driving consumer opinion survey identifies continuing negativity and gender and age divides.

New self-driving survey finds 45% of Brits are “Not AV’ing it”

We’ve covered self-driving consumer opinion surveys since the earliest days of Cars of the Future.

From the University of Greenwich study which found that 43% of 925 respondents “felt positive” towards the concept of connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs), way back in 2018, to last year’s Insurance Institute for Highway Safety research, in which 35% said self-driving technology was “extremely appealing” while 23% said it was “not at all appealing”. Is that progress?

A new survey by Go.Compare car insurance has found that 45% of the UK population don’t like the idea of autonomous vehicles, they are, apparently, “Not AV’ing it”.

What’s more, it found a gender divide too, with 26% of men actively liking the idea, compared to just 13% of women, and an age divide, with more younger Brits, 32% of 18-24-year-olds, keen on the idea.

Ryan Fulthorpe, of Go.Compare, said: “While we’re still a way off AVs being an everyday occurrence on UK roads, it appears that may actually suit a lot of motorists for the moment, as they’re not quite ready for this type of travel.

“It’s understandable that there’s some reluctance as the use of AVs has always seemed like a futuristic idea, but with Ford and Nissan both making significant in-roads with the technology, and other manufacturers undoubtedly looking to the future, it’s fast becoming a reality.

“However, if we want to promote mainstream adoption of this type of travel, the general public will understandably need to see more proof that the technology is sound and is a safe way to travel, as well as it having other benefits, such as easing congestion in cities.”

The most famous example in the ‘Ave it! genre is, of course, the John Smiths advert starring Peter Kaye’s no-nonsense approach to football training. Enjoy!

The legendary Peter Kaye John Smiths advert – ‘Ave it!

Dr Daniel Ruiz on self-driving, the internet of transport and more.

Rough seas make stronger sailors: Former Zenzic CEO Ruiz on navigating peak self-driving hype

Non-executive director at the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), and reviewer of major projects for the Cabinet Office, Oxbridge engineering graduate Dr Daniel Ruiz has had a stellar 40-year career in public transport.

He was previously head of real-time operations at Transport for London (TfL), notably set up the Transport Coordination Centre for the 2012 Olympics, founded the Transport Technology Forum (TTF), and was head of Zenzic, tasked with accelerating self-driving in the UK.

We started by asking him about the hype surrounding self-driving cars…

DR: “Hype can be the enemy of progress. I think in connected and autonomous mobility (CAM), it’s certainly the case that hype held things back. People became interested in just driverless cars, and that narrow interest resulted in a focus on the wrong things – not the best outcomes for society, the economy or the environment.

“Robotaxis have long been the sex symbol of the autonomous vehicle parc, but they’re not necessarily going to make the biggest, or soonest, impact. There’s an emerging realisation that there are greater opportunities in autonomous freight.

“This is partly because freight doesn’t complain about how fast it goes around corners. It’s also because of the many off-highway opportunities for freight movements. This enables you to prove safety and efficacy.”

How do self-driving cars fit into the future of transport?

DR: “You can easily conclude that driverless technology is expensive, therefore it will only be for multimillionaires. The reality is that much of the technology has been proven on buses and low speed shuttles – public transport services. These are going to proliferate much faster than private autonomous vehicles, not least because the regulations still need to be established.

“The driverless car that sits in your own garage is a bit of a distraction because it reflects the current transport paradigm – take one thing out, a driven car, and put something else in, a driverless car. It implies that everything else remains the same.

“We need to be thinking in more dimensions about what we want in terms of mobility. To deliver the ultimate transport system you need to satisfy the collective requirements of society. There’s not enough looking forwards, then working back.

“Michael Hurwitz, formally Director of Transport Innovation at TfL, often draws attention to the fact that, until recently, there were very few modes of transport. Now there’s electric scooters and bikes, hire schemes, ride sharing and more.

“We need to put less emphasis on the mode and think more in terms of getting from A to B in the most efficient and comfortable way. Maybe you’d be happy to walk to a scooter station, get that to the train, then pick up a cab. It’s the dwell times that inject frustration and inefficiency; that lead many to say: “It’s too complicated, I’m going to jump in the car”.

“Autonomous vehicles are part of the equation, but the C in CAM, ‘connectivity’, is also vital. The Internet of Transport (IoT) is probably the most important thing to be considering right now. How do we make sure that data and knowledge are flowing safely, securely, anonymously? Then there’s the financial side – how do you charge for stuff?

“At one point the UK was ahead of the game, certainly amongst the front runners. It isn’t as obvious that we are today, but the prize is still there. Legislation is the blocker. We haven’t moved on from the 2018 Automated and Electric Vehicles Act, although the excellent Law Commission review has recently pointed the way.”

Finally, tell us about your new job at the ORR…

DR: “The ORR is the independent regulator for Britain’s railways, and also monitors the performance of the Strategic Road Network. It has proven itself to be one of the better regulators, trusted to do a job in everyone’s best interest, and this is a very exciting time for both rail and road.

“The ORR has an obvious focus on safety and value of money, but to do this we’re increasingly involved with data – how intelligence can be brought to bear on improving the flow of traffic and the movement of people and goods.”

Please note: a version of this article was first published by the Institute of the Motor Industry’s MotorPro magazine.

Profile: Delivers.ai – the London-based last-mile self-driving delivery specialist.

Ford-backed Delivers.ai targets last mile self-driving deliveries

In this Cars of the Future exclusive, we talk last mile self-driving delivery robots with Michael Lacy, Chief Strategy Officer at Delivers.ai

In October, the London-based on-demand autonomous delivery service reached the final round of the Zenzic CAM Scale-Up selection process, with Programme Director Mark Cracknell praising “The quality and range of the finalists – testament to the innovative solutions that will make future mobility cleaner, safer and more efficient”.

Chief Strategy Officer

ML: “The market we’re targeting is last-mile for emission free, restaurant food, grocery and parcel delivery to the doorstep. Our robots work on camera-based technologies and low-cost sensors, travel at pedestrian speeds – up to about 6km/h – and, for safety, they give way to other pavement or cycleway users.

Michael Lacy, Chief Strategy Officer at self-driving delivery robot company Delivers.ai
Michael Lacy, Chief Strategy Officer at self-driving delivery robot company Delivers.ai

“We’ve been in R&D for the last 2 years and are now working with partners right across Europe on various pilot schemes. We’ve recently had investment from Ford, which is really important to us. Our long-term view is that our platform will ultimately be device agnostic – in that there will be different types and sizes of robots relative to the use case.

“Our business model is solely B2B, so our initial target partners include multi-site restaurant and grocery groups as well as parcel delivery operators. We looked at the volumes and average weights of grocery deliveries and developed our robot to have this capability. It can take a 30kg payload, enough for a multiple-item 3-day shop, with internal volume dimensions designed to take a stack of 14-inch pizza boxes.

Self-driving vehicle or robot?

“In terms of hurdles, it is taking time for the governance to catch up to the technology. It’s difficult to get a definition from a government body as to what is a robot and differentiate it from what is a vehicle – it seems open to interpretation, with different authorities taking different views. Some of the more progressive, like Milton Keynes and Northampton, are very clear that ours is a device, not a vehicle

“Raising awareness is a big part of this – demonstrating robots in practical use to the public and authorities to let them know that the safety angle has been carefully considered and educating businesses and local providers about the benefits of these devices. Not least in terms of cost savings, but also the drive to net zero and the substantial impact such a service has for those with mobility issues. Organisations such as Zenzic are very helpful to us in this regard and we again hope to be part of the CAM Scale-up this year.

“We’re also looking at other routes to market, for example, operating on private land. We’re discussing a pilot in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London, as well as approaching various other universities and business parks.

“The more places we can operate, the more we can raise awareness and help people to understand that these robots are going to be helpful, the better. Much of our R&D is focused on safety, making sure that the robot behaves appropriately in relation to all kinds of challenges – from curious dogs to busy road crossings.”

For further info visit delivers.ai

BlueCruise is good, but it’s not self-driving.

Bolt from the blue oval: hands-free Ford is UK 1st but NOT self-driving

Big news! The Department for Transport has approved the use of Ford’s BlueCruise assisted driving system on parts of the UK motorway network. Be in no doubt, this is momentous – the first time UK drivers will legally be able to take their hands off the wheel. But what does it mean for self-driving?

The scope

As we sit here today, only a select few have gained the ability to sometimes go hands-free – drivers of 2023 Ford Mustang Mach-E cars who activate a subscription. They can then use the “hands-off, eyes-on” tech on 2,300 miles of pre-mapped motorways in England, Scotland and Wales – the new ‘Blue Zones’.

UK motorway blue zones - April 2023
UK motorway blue zones – April 2023

The Ford video below explains how it works, with the voiceover saying: “BlueCruise combines with your intelligent adaptive cruise control and lane-centering systems, allowing you to take your hands off the steering wheel while it maintains cruising speed and keeps you in your current lane.

“An infrared camera monitors your eye gaze and head position to ensure that you’re paying due care and attention to the road ahead. If the system finds you’re not looking at the road it will notify you either with an alert message displayed in the instrument cluster or by sounding an audible chime to remind you to return your eyes to the road.

“If you do not react to the warnings the system will cancel, gently pump the brakes to get your attention and slow your vehicle down while maintaining steering control.”

Ford assisted driving video

The legalities

Last year the government seemed to be planning to class cars equipped with Automated Lane Keeping Systems (ALKS) as self-driving. That hasn’t happened, which is a very welcome shift.

The UK government’s website confirms: “At present, there are no self-driving vehicles listed for use in Great Britain”.

Ford itself describes BlueCruise as Level 2 driver assistance, and Transport Minister Jesse Norman made clear: “The latest advanced driver assistance systems make driving smoother and easier, but they can also help make roads safer.”

Jesse Norman, Minister of State in the Department for Transport
Jesse Norman, Minister of State in the Department for Transport

Lisa Brankin, managing director of Ford in Britain and Ireland, told the BBC‘s Today programme on Friday that, in the case of an accident, the driver will still be responsible as the technology is “not autonomous driving”.

The beeb also noted that other vehicle manufacturers offer similar systems – Tesla has Autopilot and Mercedes has Drive Pilot. Interestingly, the latter announced last year that it will accept legal responsibility for accidents caused by its system.

One of the main themes at the recent Zenzic Connected and Automated Mobility Innovators event was the need to do more to establish the UK as a global leader in CAM. This embracing of hands-free will be noted around the world.

Self-driving headlines

Unfortunately, and rather predictably, much of the UK media has again confused assisted driving and self-driving.

The Guardian went with the headline “First hands-free self-driving system approved for British motorways”.

The Sun went with “HANDS OFF Huge car firm is launching the UK’s first-approved self-driving technology”.

Various outlets, including ITV, even regurgitated the line from the press release that BlueCruise can operate up to 80mph. Not on UK roads presumably as that’s 10mph above the motorway speed limit!

Let’s be clear – this lack of clarity is dangerous. Lives are at stake and road safety should be paramount.

Eyes on the road

This Ford video shows a driver happily gazing out of the window and being warned to “watch the road”.

Ford hands-free video

As the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Connected and Automated Mobility stated in its red lines: “A statutory definition of self-driving must be established to distinguish this technology from assisted driving”.

The final word goes to Tom Leggett, of Thatcham, who emphasised: “For the first time ever drivers will be permitted to take their hands off the wheel. However, their eyes must remain on the road ahead. Crucially, the driver is not permitted to use their mobile, fall asleep or conduct any activity that takes attention away from the road.”

Microsoft co-founder blogs about his self-driving trip around London with Wayve CEO Alex Kendall

Bill Gates enjoys a surreal self-driving ride around London, 2023

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has posted a great blog about the “surreal” experience of being driven around London in a self-driving Wayve.ai car with a safety driver.

“I give you credit for picking one of the most difficult situations I’ve seen,” he tells Wayve CEO Alex Kendall in this video:

Bill Gates in a Wayve self-driving car in London

Bill Gates self-driving blog

In his Gates Notes blog “The rules of the road are about to change”, he offers further thoughts, with this graphic explaining the SAE levels:

Bill Gates posted this graphic on the SAE self-driving levels 1-5
Bill Gates posted this graphic on the SAE self-driving levels 1-5

“Right now, we’re close to the tipping point—between levels 2 and 3—when cars are becoming available that allow the driver to take their hands off the wheel and let the system drive in certain circumstances,” he says.

“The first level 3 car was recently approved for use in the United States, although only in very specific conditions: Autonomous mode is permitted if you’re going under 40 mph on a highway in Nevada on a sunny day.

“Over the next decade, we’ll start to see more vehicles crossing this threshold. AVs are rapidly reaching the point where almost all of the technology required has been invented.

“As AVs become more common, we’re going to have to rethink many of the systems we’ve created to support driving. Car insurance is a great example.

“Governments will have to create new laws and regulations. Roads might even have to change. Will AVs eventually become so popular that you have to use the “human drivers only” lane if you want to be behind the wheel?”

On the Wayve test, he said: “The car drove us around downtown London, which is one of the most challenging driving environments imaginable, and it was a bit surreal to be in the car as it dodged all the traffic. (Since the car is still in development, we had a safety driver in the car just in case, and she assumed control several times.)”

Software-defined vehicle debate feat. experts in computer engineering, automotive fintech and ADAS.

Software-defined vehicles: Cars of the Future editor hosts Reuters webinar on amazing emerging tech

In case you didn’t catch it live, Cars of the Future editor Neil Kennett recently moderated a fantastic discussion on The Evolution of Automotive Technology for Reuters Events.

The high-profile three-man panel consisted of Dr Mario De Felice, Head of Software Architecture at Jaguar Land Rover, Nico Kersten, CEO of Mercedes Pay, and Plato Pathrose, CTO of Vinfast.

With world leading expertise in computer engineering, automotive fintech and ADAS, the main topics covered included EVs and hybrids, software-defined vehicles (SDVs), over-the-air updates (OTAs) and in-car purchase systems (ICPSs).

In particular, they discussed an Accenture report predicting that revenues from digitally-enabled services will rise tenfold by 2040 (to US$3.5 trillion), and the letter by the European Association of Automotive Suppliers to the President of the European Commission calling for sector-specific regulation on the use and sharing of in-vehicle data.

They also covered Mercedes’ Drive Pilot becoming the first SAE Level 3 system in a standard production vehicle to be authorised for use on public freeways in America, and the UK’s recent self-driving public transport successes in Scotland and Didcot.

Software-defined debate

Highlights included…

How is modern software architecture changing vehicle design?

Mario De Felice: “At JLR we’ve integrated Alexa so that the user seamlessly moves from one ecosystem to the other – more complex software architecture enables all of those features. That revolution is incredible.”

How will in-car purchase systems deliver more personalised driving experiences?

Nico Kersten: “If you have digital extras available, you can really reconfigure your car. Two important words are trust and responsibility. This is how we need to approach data.”

What are the challenges and opportunities of being an emerging VM in the age of zero fatalities?

Plato Pathrose: “The major advantages we have are flexibility and adaptability. We have to deliver products that are stable and trustworthy, and show we are capable of providing better technologies.”

The full hour-long session can be viewed here.

Cutting-edge radar for ADAS and self-driving

Revolutionary self-driving tech: Oxford RF’s solid-state 360-degree sensor

In this Cars of the Future exclusive, we talk solid-state 360-degree radar, ADAS, self-driving and Zenzic success with Dr Kashif Siddiq, founder of Oxford RF Solutions.

How did you come up with the 360-degree radar idea?

KS: “We’ve specialised in radar and sensor technologies for 15 years, creating a lot of tech for other businesses. Then it struck us that there’s a huge gap in the market.

“The problem we see is people taking off-the-shelf sensors and bolting them to vehicles to try and make them autonomous. This probably isn’t the right way of doing it. What we need is sensors designed specifically for autonomous vehicles. That was the idea behind Oxford RF.

“We’ve developed a prototype which solves some of the burning challenges in perception sensors for ADAS and self-driving. It also has drone, space and marine applications. It is the world’s first solid-state 360-degree sensor. Actually, we’ve already taken it to the next level by making it hemispherical, so it can see upwards in a dome as well as all-round.

“There are no moving parts and we have the capability to integrate multiple technologies within the same box, but we’re focusing mainly on radar for now.”

Oxford RF and the APC

Oxford RF has been supported by the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) via its Technology Developer Accelerator Programme (TDAP), including collaboration with the Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG).

Self-driving investment: Oxford RF has been supported by the Advanced Propulsion Centre

And won funding as one of 2022’s Zenzic CAM Scale-Up winners

KS: “We applied last year but at that stage we only had an idea rather than a technology to test. Now we have a working prototype and are really leading the thought process when it comes to perception sensing.

“The current situation with advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) is a mix of cameras, radars and lidars being used to effectively give a full 360-degree picture. There’s an architectural problem with this. First of all, the price.

“Each of those sensors is expensive and there’s so many of them. Then, obviously, all that data needs to be routed to a centralised computer, and that causes latency. Milliseconds are valuable when it comes to saving lives.

“Another issue is redundancy: what’s the backup if one sensor fails? All too often the answer is another sensor, which means yet more cost. And you start to run into the mutual interference problem.”

Self-driving winners: Zenzic CAM Scale-Up Programme (2022 cohort)
Self driving winners: Zenzic CAM Scale-Up Programme (2022 cohort)

Safety-critical benefits

KS: “In a nutshell, we’ve reengineered sensor architecture. It doesn’t need to be radar, it can be any sensor. This allows us to reduce the sensor count.

“Initially we installed them on the car roof, but we’re moving them to the four corners, inside the bumpers. Less sensors means less latency in decision making, so it’s a faster system overall. It’s also inherently more resilient to interference.

“From a safety critical point of view, the four corners approach comes with redundancy built-in, because if one of the 360-degree sensors fails, two others are still looking at the same point.

“Delivering visibility in all conditions has to be seen as a deep tech problem and solved on a scientific basis. Are we able to reduce the mortality rate? That’s the real acid test.

“Further to that, from a finance point of view, can we reduce the cost of what I call the minimum viable sensor suite? Does that enable manufacturers to reduce car prices? Or insurers to reduce premiums due to less crashes?

ADAS first, then self-driving

KS: “We’re taking a beachhead approach and the first application will be ADAS. We’ll prove our technology there and then scale to full autonomy. Over the next year, we’re planning to produce about 100 of our solid-state 360-degree radars, to expand trials with our initial customers.

“We’re planning to start commercial production in 2024. From there, we’ll expand into other markets, as many as we practically can. For example, in drone applications, we’ll usually only need one sensor. For spacecraft, we’re looking at two front-facing sensors. For marine vessels, we’re talking about three sensors – one on the bow and two on the stern.

“It will take time to develop our business to a level where we can supply all of these markets, but it’s really good to see that there’s already significant interest.”

For further info, visit the Oxford RF website

Self-driving event review: Zenzic CAM Innovators 2023

Zenzic CAM Innovators 2023: a superior self-driving sequel

Last year’s Zenzic Connected and Automated Mobility (CAM) Innovators event was a hard act to follow, forever remembered as our first post-covid industry do. 12 months on, CAM Innovators 2023 was a superior sequel – better attended and more vibrant, despite strike action by many of the keyworkers so lauded during the pandemic.

The venue was the same, the impressive Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) on The Embankment, but this time the generous breakfast was dominated by tales of travel disruption due to the tube strike. 200+ self-driving enthusiasts battling through London gridlock to discuss clean, convenient future mobility.

Heavy traffic on the day of the self-driving event
Heavy traffic on the day of the self-driving event

Fortunately, the packed agenda and quality networking made it more than worthwhile… and hats off to the organisers for that! Registration was on the third floor, with views across the river and displays by the latest cohort of CAM Scale-Up winners.

Here, we caught up with Michael Talbot of CCAV, Tom Leggett of Thatcham, Dr Kashif Siddiq of Oxford RF and Dr Antje Völker of Dromos, and met some new people too – Emily from kids’ science activity provider Curiosity Box, and Richard, a cybersecurity expert from Siemens.

L-R: Kashif, Emily and Antje
L-R: Kashif, Emily and Antje

Before long we were gently encouraged to the ground floor theatre for a welcome by Zenzic’s Frances Williamson and Mark Cracknell.

CAM champion

There followed a keynote speech by Paul Newman of Oxbotica, recently appointed UK Automotive Council CAM Champion, who emphasised that autonomy is a system rather than a technology. “It must be delivered where it is needed most, not just in London and the Oxbridge area,” he said.

Mili Naik of Zenzic on key priorities
Mili Naik of Zenzic on key priorities

Mili Naik of Zenzic then provided a sneak preview of the newly updated UK CAM Roadmap to 2035. Notably, it predicts self-driving on the road in the UK by 2025, with a priority to build public confidence in CAM.

The first panel of the day, “What a truly connected and automated mobile future looks like”, was moderated by Zenzic’s Francis McKinney and featured Catherine Lovell of CCAV, David Skipp of Ford, David Telford of HV Systems, Gareth Bathers of Cyient, and Michael Hurwitz of PA Consulting.

Key stated benefits included enhanced mobility solutions for all, the oft-quoted 90%+ reduction in road accidents and, interestingly, a 70% energy saving.

Self-driving opportunities

Zenzic’s Bhavin Makwana then looked at “the opportunities for the UK to compete on a global stage”, with particular strengths in intellectual property, cybersecurity and insurance.

The second panel of the day, focussing on international perspectives, was moderated by Zenzic’s Edita Sawyers and Nicola Hare. It featured Per Olof Arnäs of Einride, Corey Clothier of Stantec, Katy Pell from the Department for Business and Trade, Ben Loewenstein of Waymo, Rebecca Marsden of Oxbotica and Kieran Borrett of Plug and Play.

Self-driving experts discuss the UK's global leadership prospects
Self-driving experts discuss the UK’s global leadership prospects

There was broad agreement that the UK needs to do more to establish itself as a global leader in CAM, with a surprising lack of recognition in America especially. Plenty of food for thought then, as we broke for lunch – and very nice it was too.

CAM Scale-up winners

The afternoon session began with Zenzic’s Phillip Ironside introducing representatives of the seven companies currently receiving support via the Zenzic CAM Scale-Up Programme – John Strutton of Axitech, Mihai Caleap of Calyo, Martin Dürr of Dromos, Anna Corp of Eloy, John Cartledge of Gaist, Kashif Siddiq of Oxford RF, and Mike Handley of PolyChord.

The current cohort of CAM Scale-up winners
The current cohort of CAM Scale-up winners

Each had just 90 seconds to give their elevator pitch in a whirlwind of incredible innovation!

Daniela Menzky, of first Scale-Up cohort Angoka, then hosted a panel on the challenges facing start-ups. It featured Chris Reeves of Horiba Mira, Thomas Sors of second cohort Beam Connectivity, and Damian Horton of Eloy. The pleasing message was that Zenzic CAM Scale-Up support dramatically accelerates product development.

Commercialising CAM

We’d already heard from 10 or so companies in the hour since lunch and the pace picked up again as Michael Talbot introduced us to “The world’s most comprehensive mix of self-driving projects” – the seven winners of CCAV’s Commercialising Connected and Automated Mobility competition.

Jim Fleming of Fusion Processing spoke on behalf of CAVForth2, David Telford of HV Systems for Hub2Hub, Mike Dawson of Belfast Harbour Commissioners for Project Harlander, Gemma Schroeder of the Greater Cambridge Partnership for Project Connector, Liz St Louis of Sunderland City Council for Sunderland Advanced Mobility Shuttle, Paul Butler of the North East Automotive Alliance for V-CAL, and Tom Robinson of Conigital for Multi-Area Connected Automated Mobility (MACAM).

Amidst the plethora of ambitious plans, Project Harlander in Belfast has perhaps the greatest scope. It covers the vast port area, which has its own bylaws and therefore isn’t reliant on new UK legislation.

Questions from the audience included Professor Nick Reed enquiring about sharing data on safety – the panel all saw the benefits of working collaboratively – and Thatcham asking about OEM considerations – the only time all day that anyone mentioned conventional passenger cars!

CAM community

After a half-hour break for coffee and networking – a welcome chance to catch-up with Clem Robertson of R4dar – Kirsten Williamson of Petrus spoke briefly about skills and training, before joining a panel hosted by Zenzic’s Kit Golda on “Creating a UK CAM community”.

The final panel session at CAM Innovators 2023
The final panel session at CAM Innovators 2023

They were joined by Karla Jakeman (previously of Innovate UK and now head of automated transport at TRL), Dr Antje Völker of Dromos, Dr Sally Stares of City University and Mark Preston of Streetdrone.

The latter explained how HGV drivers giving advice on reversing had been recruited to develop the AI, becoming leading advocates for self-driving.

The headline finding was that jobs in CAM are highly appealing to school children, much more so than traditional automotive – a suitably positive note on which to finish another fantastic event.

So, a date for your diary – we’ll do it all again next year, on 13 March.

Zenzic CAM Innovators Event 2024
Zenzic CAM Innovators Event 2024

Self-driving event report: Oxbotica’s Newman addresses insurance professionals at Lloyd’s of London

Oxbotica at Lloyd’s: Why insurance and self-driving are inextricably entwined

On Tuesday 28 February, in the Banqueting Suite at one of London’s most iconic buildings, Tom Allebone-Webb, Head of Strategy & Innovation at Lloyd’s, introduced a packed audience of insurance professionals to Professor Paul Newman, Founder and CTO of Oxbotica.

The prestigious address in question was 1 Lime Street, the Richard Rogers-designed home of Lloyd’s of London, and the official title of the event was “The Future of Autonomy”.

The blurb promised an opportunity to “get up close with a zero occupancy all-electric self-driving vehicle which will revolutionise the goods and delivery market”, but there was much more to it than that.

The previous afternoon we spoke to Sam Tiltman, Sharing Economy and Mobility Leader for the UK & Ireland at Marsh, “the world’s leading insurance broker and risk advisor”, who described it as a call to action for a technological leap akin to the development of the internet.

“The combined impact of mobility as a service, electric vehicles and automation will be huge,” he said. “If autonomous vehicles deliver on their premise, they will significantly reduce risk, so if we don’t invest in this, then we, as an industry, will be disrupted.”

Insurance call to action

Oxbotica and Applied EV's zero-occupancy self-driving vehicle at Lloyd's of London, Feb 2023
Oxbotica and Applied EV’s zero-occupancy self-driving vehicle at Lloyd’s of London, Feb 2023

If any attendees were labouring under the impression that this is still the stuff of science fiction, the car parked outside the grand main entrance must have piqued their interest.

It was our first time seeing the record-breaking Applied EV vehicle for ourselves. However, regular readers will be familiar with its impressive radar vision, laser-based sensors and Oxbotica Driver System.

Passers-by were clearly more struck by what it doesn’t have – doors, windows, seats or a steering wheel. Last year it became the first autonomous vehicle to operate on UK public roads without a driver – a landmark achievement.

Both Tiltman and Applied EV CEO, Julian Broadbent, were also panellists for a lively Q&A, more of which later. First came Professor Newman’s presentation.

Oxbotica's Newman on self-driving at Lloyd's of London, 28 Feb 2023
Oxbotica’s Newman on self-driving at Lloyd’s of London, 28 Feb 2023

Dispensing with the faltering microphone, he spoke eloquently and with great passion for close to an hour. Opening with a crowd pleasing “insurance is awesome” message, he asserted that: “Insurance and autonomy are intertwined, because both will be everywhere.

“Since the days of the horse and cart we have persisted with the idea of one operator per vehicle. Now it can be ‘n’ operators per vehicle, and it will be insurers who decide what ‘n’ is.”

The four key questions that self-driving vehicles constantly ask, he said, are: Where am I? What is around me? What do I do? And what do I share?

He used the introduction of wolves to Yellowstone National Park as an analogy for the kind of “trophic cascade” that self-driving vehicles will bring about. For example, the energy-saving benefits of lights being turned off at automated ports – because autonomous vehicles don’t need them.

More pertinently, he continued: “Offline, the residual data from autonomy can be used to assess risk. Online, at a danger point, you can change behaviour. We call this insurance-in-the-loop.

“Assurance (and insurance) is king, so how do you test, verify and validate? We thought, let’s not waste our life scripting certain edge cases, let’s build AI to train the software. That’s Meta Driver.”

He finished with some eye-catching examples of scenarios encountered during real-world testing, and more challenging ‘deep fake’ examples of similar scenarios, created by tweaking variables such as timings, light levels and weather.

Self-driving vehicle manufacturing

There followed a short presentation by Broadbent, who explained his background in vehicle manufacturing and mission to design “cleaner, more efficient machines specifically for doing an autonomous job.”

Applied EV's Broadbent on self-driving at Lloyd's of London, 28 Feb 2023
Applied EV’s Broadbent on self-driving at Lloyd’s of London, 28 Feb 2023

On upscaling from the skateboard-like vehicle out front, through small cab-less delivery vehicles, to bigger trucks, he said the question was always: “What’s the next size up that we can make software defined?”

On public perception, he concluded: “We’re interested in how they interact and mainly people find them very dull, but there is a danger of a ‘scary clown’ problem.”

Self-driving Q&A

Next up was the aforementioned panel session, hosted by Allebone-Webb and featuring Newman, Broadbent and Tiltman, along with Chris Moore, of digital insurance specialist Apollo ibott 1971, and Rebecca Marsden, formerly of Apollo and now VP of Risk and Insurance at Oxbotica.

Opening the debate, Marsden said: “This is not just about risk management. The depth of data is transformative. It requires us to be collaborative.” 

Tiltman agreed, encouraging a broader, more embedded role for insurers. “There is so much variance between different jurisdictions, we need to step up and help shape regulations,” he said.

Self-driving panel at Lloyd's of London, 28 Feb 2023
Self-driving panel at Lloyd’s of London, 28 Feb 2023

Questions from the audience began with the reasonably blunt: “If you reduce risk sufficiently, do you need insurance at all?”

Moore responded: “Under our partnership with Oxbotica, we see them as a buyer of insurance today but a future distributor of insurance products or even a co-insurance partner in the future. This industry is currently very product focused, whereas we need to transition to being client and solution focussed. We have to break out of our silos and create a new product, an autonomy product.”

Further questions covered the possibility of a court requiring a developer to reveal “what’s inside the black box”, the possibility that unscrupulous actors might target self-driving cars in next-gen cash-for-crash scams, and the thorny issue of cyberattacks.

“The truth is the work is never finished, and insurers must be part of this digital solution – it will be ongoing, not something you can photocopy,” said Newman. “It will involve the sharing of best practice and keeping in mind why I got into this in the first place – safety. More parents should keep their kids, and more kids should keep their parents.”

It was a compelling point on which to end. For us though, the day was not quite done, as Newman generously found time to do a follow-up interview.

Paul Newman interview

We started with validation and the acceptability of simulation data.

PN: “Consider the combined experience of all vehicles in all places against the experience inside the skull of a 16-year-old just learning to drive. That’s all about risk, insurance and lifelong learning. Think about the hyperscalers’ access to data globally – it’s almost unfathomable.

“Just like computing, this is a technology we will be building on for all time. Of course, there has to be testing and statistics around actual vehicles operating in certain ways. But there comes a point when you have to ask: Can we augment that with something superhuman? Starting with real data is very important. We start with real images or real laser or radar data, and then massively exponentiate.”

We then tried to tease out what Oxbotica’s next big announcements might be.

PN: “We’re looking at energy, delivery, agriculture and construction; we’re very into 16-person shuttles in various cities, so that’s pretty much all vehicle types. It’s a pretty agnostic answer.” Well, can’t blame us for trying!

OK, final question: At the end of the event just now, people were talking about what happens in real time if the vehicle thinks it is off policy?

PN: “If the vehicle is off policy, then it could reasonably say it shouldn’t operate and could pause itself. But how interesting for a vehicle to be able to say, “Actually, I think I could be off policy, because I’m measuring increased risks”. To me there’s something glorious about that.

“Let’s not think about insurance as the net, but as part of the system that manages the risk. That’s really interesting and it’s going to cause a few recursions because the insurance itself is changing the behaviour, changing the risk.”

With motoring accounting for such a large percentage of insurance, that is “interesting” indeed.