The vehicle was developed by Oxbotica, and more such trials are being planned
The UK had its first public road trial of a self driving car in the town of Milton Keynes. Called the Lutz Pathfinder Pod, the electric vehicle was developed by Oxbotica, and navigated its way through the streets of the town at five miles an hour. The trials were overseen by the Transport Systems Catapult, a government sponsored non-profit organisation. Neil Fulton, Program Director at Transport Systems Catapult told Reuters, “If people can see that these vehicles are capable of driving themselves they can gain trust in them.”
Earlier this year, a Lexus SUV fitted with Google’s self driving sensors had an accident, which resulted in injuries to three of the company's employees who were in the car. Google would later claim that the accident was caused by human drivers that were distracted.
A couple of months ago, Singapore became the first country to introduce self driving taxis. The service is operated by a company called nuTonomy, a software startup in the autonomous vehicle space. Further, Google’s parent company, Alphabet, has also signed a deal with Fiat Chrysler Automobile NV to incorporate self-driving technology into 100 Chrysler minivans.
Watch: Autonomous vehicles take to the streets in the UK for the first time. pic.twitter.com/Pc6ppjqzlP
— Transport Systems (@TSCatapult) October 12, 2016
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