UK given green light to become world leader in driverless cars

A consortium of leading UK businesses has secured funding from Innovate UK to examine the data requirements needed to support autonomous navigation. The ground-breaking ‘Atlas’ initiative will study data critical to the efficient operation of autonomous vehicles and how it can be enhanced. Testing the feasibility of maintaining, processing and distributing this data is a core element of the project. Autonomous vehicles will need to find their way reliably and safely through a vast network of streets while interacting with driven and other autonomous vehicles. Sections of road, other than motorways will be equipped with beacons using the potential of 5G technology and geospatial accuracy to sense ‘unexpected objects’ (a.k.a ‘children and animals’), that may stray into the path of an oncoming autonomous vehicle. Atlas is an important project to enable safe navigation of vehicles and help to transform the transport system and ultimately save lives. www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk