The £20 million programme encompasses eight large scale collaborative research and development projects and 14 technical feasibility projects, funded to enhance communication between vehicles and roadside infrastructure or urban information systems. UK Business Secretary Sajid Javid announced the winning projects on a visit to MIRA, the autonomous vehicles test centre in Nuneaton.
Efficient FPGA implementations
Myrtle’s project will focus on compiling key autonomous vehicle algorithms to efficient FPGA implementations. Brian Tyler, Myrtle’s Director of Innovation, said “We’re very excited to become part of this high profile government programme and work closely with major automobile companies. Accessing real-world sensor data will enable Myrtle to showcase our flagship compiler technology and prove the efficiency gains that our strongly typed proprietary pipeline can bring to the real world deployment of algorithms inside the next generation of automobiles.”
First
All projects are the first to be funded from the government’s £100 million Intelligent Mobility Fund. They range from developing autonomous shuttles to carry visually-impaired passengers using advanced sensors and control systems, to new simulation trials for autonomous pods to increase uptake and improve real-world trials.
Trials to test driverless cars on the streets are currently being worked on in Bristol, Coventry, Milton Keynes, and Greenwich. Autonomous vehicles are also being used in Heathrow to shuttle passengers, although these are currently on designated tracks.
Pioneers
The UK has a rich fabric of scientists and engineers who have established the UK as pioneers in the research and development of connected and autonomous vehicles. Today’s funding will help strengthen the UK as a global centre for the fast-growing intelligent mobility market, estimated to be worth £900 billion per year globally by 2025.
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