Humandrive Driverless 200 Mile Trial

Driverless cars are getting a mixed year with prototypes hitting urban and rural roads this year. The US and China, in particular, have been seeing testing in both urban and long-distance travel. Test results are promising for the much-anticipated introduction of automated cars by 2022. The UK is among those countries getting involved in this transportation revolution as we’ve seen.

Earlier, we reported on the testing of utterly automatic travel taking place in Greenwich to great success. But a more complicated journey still awaits this driving marvel, which spans over 200 miles. This test being the HumanDrive Initiative, developed in an attempt to measure the success of automated travel with countryside driving.

HumanDrive Initiative – Driverless down country lanes

According to Greg Clark, Britain’s minister for Business, Energy and Industrial strategy, has placed profound interest on the project.

“Low-carbon and self-driving vehicles are the future, and they are going to drive forward a global revolution in mobility… Trailblazing projects like the HumanDrive project will play a vital role helping us deliver on that ambition.”

The HumanDrive Initiative will see an automated car undergo a trail of country roads of over 200 miles. Providing it with all the challenges of high-speed roundabouts, fluctuating traffic levels including harsh weather conditions. The project is a collaboration of Cranfield University and Highways England but also boasts major car manufacturers.

These include Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi, which have placed their expertise and resources behind the project’s success. Through rigorous testing with human drivers, the project seeks to develop creative automotive intelligence. Making it capable of reactions and critical judgements that are utterly necessary for safe driving.

“This project is about advancing state of the art and trying to do something more demanding. The control system will learn to drive like a human.”