Driverless cars to be tested on airfield site

DRIVERLESS cars are to be tested at a second complex in Leicestershire as part of the Government’s ambition to to make the UK a leading centre of research for the technology.

More than £8 million is to be invested in Bruntingthorpe Proving Ground, where 3.8 miles of roads will be built to simulate a range of scenarios.

Permission was granted earlier this year for a similar £26 million facility to be developed at Mira, near Higham-on-the Hill.

The Mira centre will test limit handling of autonomous vehicles – how they perform at high speeds – while Bruntingthorpe will focus on how driverless cars safely negotiate junctions.

Bruntingthorpe Proving Ground has teamed up with automotive engineering and testing firm Applus+ Idiada for the project which has successfully bid for £4 million of Government cash.

Applus+ Idiada will design the roads. Planning permission will be required from Harborough District Council for the roads but the area to be developed is within the boundaries of the former airfield, which is already used for conventional vehicle testing and storage and where 20,000 cars are kept.

If all goes according to plan the research facility could be open in 18 months, though there are ele- ments of testing that can begin before that. It is estimated the scheme will create 50 jobs in addition to the 700 workforce at Bruntingthorpe.

Bosses said they are looking to secure the future of the site as a centre of employment for the next 10 to 15 years.

The Bruntingthorpe upgrade is intended to establish a critical piece of testing infrastructure on the site which will allow the testing of almost any vehicle under almost any scenario in a fully connected, representative environment in a repeatable and controlled manner.

It will be part of efforts to ensure Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAV) are safe for the road network and have public confidence.

Proving ground managing director Dave Walton said: “Bruntingthorpe Proving Ground and Applus+ Idiada are delighted to become a part of the vision for the future CAV testing ecosystem in the UK.

“The site at Bruntingthorpe and the experience of the Bruntingthorpe team, together with Idiada’s experience in designing and operating proving grounds, will allow us to develop a world-class CAV facility which will attract intelligent vehicle development activities to the UK.

“The project will deliver a highly configurable set of road junctions, ranging from smart motorways to rural roads, all within a fully connected and carefully controlled environment.”