There are many benefits to using driverless cars in urban areas: reducing traffic congestion, accidents, environmental pollution... We've seen them already in some cities or airports, used for public transportation or transit shuttles. But in these cases, they run on dedicated tracks and therefore involve heavy structural works. Naturally, the next step is to design an automated car able to run on the streets. Many prototypes have been and are currently in development, including in the UK with this £8m project called GATEway (Greenwich Automated Transport Environment), funded by industry and government agency Innovate UK.
Different designs have been seen here and there but it seems that the GATEway teams are working on an improved version of Heathrow Airport pods, suitable for use on road without the need of tracks. Seven driverless cars will be trialled in Greenwich this summer, from July to September. During those three months, invited users will test the vehicles, each pod carrying 6 people, one of them being officially in charge of pressing the emergency button in case of problem. If the trial goes according to GATEway's wishes, the seven vehicles will then be made available to the public.
Photo: Digital Greenwich
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