Aurrigo International, a Coventry-based company, is ready to deploy its autonomous transport technology in continental Europe for the first time as part of a city-funded trial. The company’s Auto-Shuttle vehicle will operate on the streets of Prague as part of the Living Lab for Autonomous Public Transport (LivingLAPT) project, which is funded by the European Union with €275,820. Led by University College London (UCL), the project brings together industry, municipalities, and operators to test autonomous vehicles with a safety driver on board. The ultimate goal is to move towards the use of remote supervisors.
The project will start in Prague and will also extend to Brno and Milton Keynes. Aurrigo International CEO, David Keene, expressed excitement about working with such prestigious partners and highlighted the importance of conducting tests in various cities. The Auto-Shuttle vehicle is suitable for the project as Aurrigo develops both the vehicle and the autonomous driving technology in-house, ensuring seamless integration.
Funded by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), the project aims to build confidence in autonomous driving by developing a transnational safety framework and fostering acceptance and collaboration among citizens, cities, operators, academia, industry, and policymakers. Bani Anvari, a professor of smart mobility at UCL, emphasizes the potential of driverless buses to address the challenges cities face, such as reducing emissions and improving safety and mobility.
The LivingLAPT project aims to offer sustainable driverless transportation and logistics services in European cities, gradually eliminating the need for safety drivers and moving towards remote operators.
This deployment of Aurrigo International’s autonomous technology in Prague marks a significant step towards the widespread adoption of autonomous public transport in Europe.
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– Article based on information from Future IoT