Businesses can apply for a share of up to £15 million
to develop simulation technologies that help to speed up adoption
of driverless and connected vehicles.
The Centre for Connected and
Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV) in partnership with Innovate
UK has up to £15 million to invest in projects that use
simulation and modelling in the development of approvals and
standards for autonomous and connected vehicles.
Driverless vehicles on the roads
UK government has said that it expects driverless vehicles to be
on UK roads by 2021.
Testing physical vehicles in all conceivable situations is likely
to be expensive and time-consuming. Development of connected and
autonomous vehicles and battery technologies is therefore a core
part of government’s Industrial Strategy.
It recently announced a Sector Deal with the
automotive industry that secures joint investment and
long-term commitments in design and development of connected and
autonomous vehicles, the research and development of battery
technology and manufacture of ultra-low and zero emission
vehicles.
The announcement included the £15 million from CCAV in this
competition to speed up adoption and development of standards and
regulations.
Confidence in technologies
Regulators and manufacturers need to be confident that vehicle
control systems are effective in all situations if driverless
vehicles are to be allowed on the roads.
The competition is seeking ways of using simulation and modelling
techniques to rigorously test vehicle control systems that
support quick development and adoption.
A further competition in 2019 is expected to support capital
investment in this area.
- the competition is open, and the deadline for applications is
2 May 2018
- projects must be led by a business working with partners
- we expect projects to have total costs of up to £5 million
and to last up to 2 years
- businesses could attract up to 70% of their total project
costs
