The vehicle, a purpose-built autonomous electric bus from UK manufacturer Alexander Dennis, a subsidiary of NFI Group Inc., has been delivered and will undergo rigorous track testing to ensure the vehicle’s safety and performance, as Connector prepares to launch later this year.
Backed by Innovate UK, the Connector project consortium is led by the Greater Cambridge Partnership and in addition to Alexander Dennis includes Fusion Processing, IPG Automotive, dRISK and Gamma Energy. It is part funded and supported by the UK Government’s Centre for Connected & Autonomous Vehicles.
Cllr Elisa Meschini, Chair of the Greater Cambridge Partnership’s Executive Board, said: “Connector will see autonomous vehicles being trialled on our city’s roads to investigate their potential to transform the way people travel. This is a significant opportunity for Cambridge to lead the way in innovation, paving the way for more sustainable and efficient ways to get to where people need to go. Seeing the first vehicle arrive and be ready for testing is a testament to the collaborative efforts of everyone involved with the consortium and I look forward to seeing how this technology can potentially shape the future of public transport.”
Jamie Wilson, Head of Concepts & Advanced Engineering for Alexander Dennis, said: “The completion of the first Enviro100AEV is a great milestone for the Connector project as we now enter a phase of vehicle testing to ready the technology for public services. This builds on the substantial work we have done with Fusion Processing and other partners in similar projects to further refine this technology as we continue to explore use cases where autonomous buses can improve operational efficiency and add flexibility to transport networks.”
Consortium partners were invited by Alexander Dennis to their manufacturer’s technology hub in Farnborough for the unveiling of the project’s first Enviro100AEV. Using an innovative funding model, the Alexander Dennis Enviro100AEV buses for the Connector project will be owned by Mistral Group and leased to the Greater Cambridge Partnership.
The bus will now enter a period of track-based testing to calibrate and fine-tune Fusion Processing’s CAVStar® automated drive system before delivery to Cambridge. This will be followed by testing and training for the safety drivers that will provide on-board supervision when public services commence later this year at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, which combines world-class biomedical research, patient care and education on a single site.
Image: Left to right: Robert Vermeer, InnovateUK; Daniel Clarke, Greater Cambridge Partnership; David Webb, Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV); Gemma Schroeder, Greater Cambridge Partnership; Ben Harrison, ZENZIC; Elliot Hemes, IPG Automotive UK; Antony Hurden, InnovateUK; Amanda Richardson, Fusion Processing; Rav Babbra, dRISK; Oliver Brabner, Gamma Energy; Jamie Wilson, Alexander Dennis.
