Innovate UK, the government’s technology strategy board, has been given the green light to test driverless cars in the UK.
The group will receive £10m to assess how driverless cars can fit into everyday life, which could benefit the blind and partially sighted. The locations selected were Greenwich, Bristol, and Milton Keynes and Coventry working on a joint project.
Nick Jones, lead technologist for the low carbon vehicle innovation platform at Innovate UK, said: ‘Cars that drive themselves would represent the most significant transformation in road travel since the introduction of the internal combustion engine and at Innovate UK, we want to help the UK to lead the world in making that happen.
‘There are so many new and exciting technologies that can come together to make driverless cars a reality, but it’s vital that trials are carried out safely, that the public have confidence in that technology and we learn everything we can through the trials so that legal, regulation and protection issues don’t get in the way.’