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VENTURER was one of the first three UK government funded research and innovation projects on Connected Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs) and was conducted predominantly in the South West region of the country. A series of increasingly complex scenarios conducted in an…
The 2020s – The decade of driverless? Well, that is one prediction – a revolution of self-driving vehicles picking up and ferrying passengers without the need for a human driver. In anticipation of this development, the Law Commissions have been…
There has been a burgeoning of Connected Autonomous Vehicle (CAV) activity at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory (BRL) following our involvement in the VENTURER project, which was led by Atkins and involved a range of partners from across academia and industry….
On a pleasant but subdued day in June, South Gloucestershire Council hosted the CAV Cohort event, organised by KTN for Innovate UK/CCAV. The venue – unofficially known as the Concorde Museum but more formally, Aerospace Bristol – was absolutely fitting…
On a pleasant but subdued day in June, South Gloucestershire Council hosted the CAV Cohort event, organised by KTN for Innovate UK/CCAV. The venue – unofficially known as the Concorde Museum but more formally, Aerospace Bristol – was absolutely fitting…
The VENTURER Alliance was formed on 1 July 2018 to continue the pioneering work and share the ground-breaking findings of the innovative VENTURER research and development project. Now – one year on – we thought it fitting to summarise our…
Manufacturers, academics, technology experts, insurers and law firms have all been busy at the start of 2019 working through the 46 questions included in the Law Commission’s preliminary consultation paper. The consultation is the start of a far-reaching review of…
Almost four years ago, the term Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs) and Driverless Cars would return one to two Google Alerts per week (each containing a couple of links). I know this as that is when I set them up…
September 4, 2018: The VENTURER project has today released its final report, detailing key learnings from the £5m government co-funded driverless car project, which was based in the West of England and concluded in June 2018. The three-year research and…
July 2, 2018: Today sees the launch of the VENTURER Alliance, a collaborative partnership which has been created to continue the pioneering work of the innovative £5-million UK government co-funded VENTURER research and development project. Made up of the original…
Bristol, June 14, 2018: As it draws to a close, the VENTURER consortium has today held a showcase event to celebrate the achievements of its innovative £5-million research and development project, exploring the future of connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs)…
We are keen to build on the wealth of driverless car expertise in the region by engaging with the leaders of tomorrow. VENTURER wants to educate students about the future possibilities of driverless cars as well as the potential career…
On Wednesday 7th March my colleague, Imogen, and I attended an event aimed at encouraging primary school children to be involved in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) subjects and to consider a career in engineering. The event was held…
During the months of January and February, VENTURER is undertaking the third and final phase of a series of human factors experiments. Trial 3 is being held at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory, involving examining human reactions to the decisions made…
VENTURER has so far undertaken two trials, where both planned handover and interactions between an AV and other vehicles have been explored. The results of both of these trials can be found on the VENTURER website. Trial 3 will commence…
Professor John Parkin discusses the VENTURER Autonomous Vehicles project and the results of trials to assess the human response to the artificial intelligence decision making system. Are humans ready to defer decisions to artificial intelligence? There’s something about the grass…
Strangely, a widely trailed Budget pledge which didn’t make the Chancellor’s speech today may be one of the most important for the future of British manufacturing and the economy. Automated vehicles have enormous potential for UK plc as well as…
Did you know over 90% of all road traffic accidents are caused by driver error? AXA have produced this video to demonstrate how they are looking to the future as a part of the VENTURER consortium…
Insurance has been viewed as a very traditional industry for many years, so I was really excited to be able to see ‘up close’ one of the projects that really makes AXA stand out as a leader in the world…
Written by Olivia Reddy, Masters student at BRL – Trial participant and Pod demonstration spectator. Driverless cars have been in the news a lot over the past few years, and here in Bristol is one of the places you can…
Over the weekend of 4 – 6 August VENTURER teamed up with the GATEway project as part of the Festival of What If, hosted by the At-Bristol Science Centre, to showcase driverless technology to the public. The event focused on…
During the months of June and July, VENTURER undertook the second tranche of experiments. Trial 2, held at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory, involved examining human reactions to the decisions made by an autonomous vehicle at junctions and while interacting with…
VENTURER driverless car project publishes results of first trial: ‘Planned handover’ key to development of driverless car technology say researchers VENTURER is the first Connected and Autonomous Vehicle project to start in the UK. The results of VENTURER’s preliminary trials show that…
Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs) present an interesting conundrum in the West of England. Depending on the view point, CAV can be seen as an industry, cluster, technology or application. In essence, it is an amalgamation of all the above….
The Vehicle Technology and Aviation Bill (formerly known as the Modern Transport Bill) was published recently and received its Second Reading in the House of Commons on 6th March 2017. It contains a specific section on the insurance framework for…
VENTURER was the first Connected and Autonomous Vehicle (CAV) project to start in the UK and has made significant progress over the last 18 months, but we must not forget the testing and research that is being undertaken across the…
The VENTURER consortium joined leading tech companies and innovators at Venturefest on Friday 3 February to showcase their contribution to smart city living with connected and autonomous vehicles (CAV). The event took place at the University of the West of…
Following the successful completion of Trial 1 in October 2016, the New Year is set to continue with more exciting developments for VENTURER. Early 2017 – Trial 1 Results The findings from Trial 1 will be published on our website…
Philip Hammond’s first Autumn Statement as Chancellor was one packed with positive news featuring ambitious spend on infrastructure, R&D and innovation. The government has outlined a strong commitment to boosting economic stability in the coming years while simultaneously rebuilding business…
The VENTURER project is interested in the perceptions and expectations that businesses, lobby groups, policy making organisations and local authorities have for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs) and a driverless mobility future. A team of researchers at the Centre for…
A guest blog post by Austen Okonweze, CCAV Connected and Automated vehicle technologies (CAVs) have the potential to be a real game changer for the automotive sector, altering the face of motoring in many ways. They will make driving…
The first trials of the Venturer autonomous vehicle project, a Government backed research project, have focussed on a critical aspect in the field of autonomous vehicle (AV) technology. The ‘handover’, when the control of the car switches from human driver…
One objective of the trials currently being undertaken by the VENTURER consortium is to generate a better understanding of how drivers manage the handover process. Addressing the behavioural and physiological constraints around handover is vital to developing a proposition which…
There is no question that cars are getting smarter but the real question is how smart can they get and when is this likely to happen? Connected & Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs) will transform how we use transport, how vehicles interact…
Autonomous driving has quickly become a hot topic, with not a day passing without an announcement of a new manufacturer programme or consortium study. The big question on everyone’s lips though, is will they be safe? The technology is very…
Many technical advances are afoot in the autonomous road vehicle domain and, in some senses, ‘driverless cars’ are already amongst us in the world. However, I believe that great care needs to be taken in introducing this exciting new technology…
The Development and testing of autonomous vehicle technology is only one aspect of introducing driverless cars to UK roads. The other core element is focused on understanding the needs of the end-user. Making driverless vehicles a reality will therefore rely…
The Importance of the Citizen Perspective in the Development of Autonomous Road Vehicles Professor Graham Parkhurst, Centre for Transport & Society, UWE Bristol[1]; graham.parkhurst@uwe.ac.uk Government departments, technology developers and industrial strategy advisors across the globe have identified numerous potential benefits…
VENTURER will undertake three trials in order to assess user responses to driverless cars. The first of these trials is currently on the way. Trial 1 is testing planned handover of control between a vehicle and driver. This is when…
The VENTURER project is a fascinating one to be involved in. As we have said before, we understand that autonomous technologies have the potential to dramatically improve road safety as well as impact positively on other areas of society. This…
AXA UK has released the first annual report on its partnership with the VENTURER project, the first of three reports on autonomous vehicles. As a key partner of the VENTURER consortium, one of the groups trialing autonomous vehicles in order to…
VENTURER held its first media and showcase event on Tuesday 24 May, in advance of its summer trial which is scheduled to run from June to September 2016. The event, which is part of a wider stakeholder engagement programme, outlined…
The VENTURER consortium will collaborate with Westfield Sportscars Ltd to deliver the next phase of its research and development programme, which is scheduled to commence in July 2016. The UK sports car manufacturer will supply the Ultra Pod self-driving prototype,…
“The VENTURER consortium has secured funding from Innovate UK to test driverless cars in the Bristol region. This appointment follows today’s Autumn Statement announcement to make the UK a world centre for the testing and development of this new technology.”…