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points out that the LUTZ Pathfinder project generated an estimated £110m globally of Advertising Value Equivalent (AVE), which he attributes to a burgeoning appetite to understand more about driverless technology. “We’ve moved from slowly realising that vehicles are getting more advanced, to seeing that self-driving vehicles could become a reality in the next five or 10 years,” he says.For Milton Keynes, driverless vehicles are already a reality. The LUTZ Pathfinder project has cemented the town’s reputation as a ‘living laboratory’ for Intelligent Mobility (IM) innovation, and in future it is expected to provide the environment for more trials. “We do need to test in tightly controlled environments, but we will always need to carry out trials in real-life scenarios too. Milton Keynes has shown itself to be very open to that,” Fulton says. Future research on the CAV roadmap will include autonomous delivery, shuttle-vehicle trials and much more testing of road-based vehicles.With this milestone behind it, the LUTZ Pathfinder initiative will now feed into a more extensive, nationwide programme of autonomous trials, as the government sharpens its focus on advanced automation technology. This has seen the establishment of the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV); an organisation dedicated to development of the UK’s activities in this sector, as well as huge investments from government to develop test-bed infrastructure that will create world-leading capabilities in Connected and Autonomous vehicles. The TSC is also a partner in UK Autodrive, one of the first three major government-backed programmes to trial automated vehicle technology. As well as trialling connected and autonomous road-based cars, UK Autodrive is examining the potential for integrating driverless pods into a future public transport service. The TSC has also created its own automated vehicle test and integration facility that will enable SMEs and universities to work on advanced CAV technology. The pod vehicles that were initially designed for the LUTZ Pathfinder project will now be made available as open platforms for future development ‒ an approach embedded in the TSC’s strategy of accelerating UK academic and business growth.Fulton says the TSC’s role is to coordinate efforts and ensure that different systems ‒ from navigation and obstacle identification, to braking and steering ‒ developed by different businesses, work seamlessly together. This cohesion is key to maintaining momentum. “From a research and development perspective, this isn’t going to slow down. If we look at the way the car was introduced over 100 years ago, the research has only increased over the last 25 years to make them safer, more efficient, less polluting and more comfortable. Today, we’re just at the start of transport’s next revolution.” “FROM A RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVE, THIS ISN’T GOING TO SLOW DOWN. TODAY, WE'RE JUST AT THE START OF TRANSPORT’S NEXT REVOLUTION” PROGRAMME DIRECTOR NEIL FULTONLUTZ PATHFINDER21IMAGINE