Jaguar Land Rover trials autonomous car fleet in Coventry
Project Vector will run a fleet of up to 20 ‘pods’ that will ferry students around Warwick University’s campus and beyond…
WHAT IS IT?
This is a glimpse of where Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), and other car manufacturers, think the future of urban motoring is going. Project Vector is an autonomous shuttle (albeit with a steering wheel and pedals, just in case) that will ferry students around Warwick University’s campus sometime this year, eventually taking passengers all the way into Coventry city centre by 2021.
The vehicle uses a skateboard chassis – a simple four-metre long platform with wheels – that can be configured to support different bodies, powered by an electric motor. For now, the car is a six-seater pod, with a top speed of 30mph and a driver at the wheel to help out in the early stages. But the body could be swapped out altogether, to become a inner-city delivery vehicle.
WHY’S IT IMPORTANT?
Admittedly, most concept cars rarely make it to the real world. But here’s why Project Vector is big. For the most part, autonomous cars have gotten pretty good at learning to drive. But in the future, car companies like JLR anticipate that as well as not wanting to drive, many people won’t want to own a car either. Urban populations may come to rely on fleets of autonomous cars ferrying them around city centres instead. If that happens, the most popular services will be the ones that get us from A to B most efficiently.
This isn’t just bad news for Taxi drivers. These fleets of self-driving cars will need software that can learn to anticipate demand (like when there’s a football match), avoid traffic, and know where and when to recharge its battery. This next phase of learning needs to happen if autonomous cars are to make our lives better, not worse. Especially if you don’t want them unintentionally making congestion worse as they coast around town looking for a fare or somewhere to park.
WHAT’S NEXT?
This is all part of JLR’s Destination Zero mission: zero carbon, zero accidents and zero congestion. It’s a lofty mission from a company that makes big SUVs, but Jaguar have been heavily investing in electric car tech, even setting up its own single series motorsport around the I-Pace. And as bans on new petrol and diesel cars come into effect across Europe at earlier and earlier dates, this just seems like judicious planning by the UK’s biggest car company.
BUT I DON’T LIKE PODS…
JLR aren’t the only one to trial this approach to an autonomous fleet. Earlier this year, General Motors unveiled the Cruise Origin, an autonomous ‘people mover’ that will carry people around cities, only this car has no steering wheel or pedals, and no way for a human to take over, meaning it will need special exemptions from local governments to begin testing.
Meanwhile, last October in London, a more familiar-looking Ford Mondeo fitted with autonomous tech began feeling out the Captial’s roads. The trial was carried out by a UK tech firm called Oxbotica, and was the first of its kind. This summer, the company hopes it can begin a trial of a ride-sharing taxi service together with the cab company Addison Lee. Who wants a go?