Autonomous cars to be tested at speeds of up to 155mph at new UK test centre
A driverless vehicle testing centre, which is being built by Horiba Mira, and will be used by cars going up to 155mph, is set to be completed in March 2021.
Horiba Mira secured permission from Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council in September 2008 after it awarded funding from the Government for the project alongside Coventry University in October 2017.
The scheme is being constructed for Horiba Mira's proving ground in Nuneaton and will aim to create a "realistic, safe environment" for testing the cars "to the limit".
The project could pave the way for the creation of more than 1,000 jobs.
A total of 12.3 million sq ft of asphalt pavement is being created and the site will be open 360 days of the year.
Declan Allen, Managing Director at Horiba Mira, said: "We’ve been on a journey to create ASSURED CAV; it represents many years of intense research and investment to bring together one of the most comprehensive CAV validation ecosystems in the world.
"At a time when the automotive industry is facing significant headwinds, we’ve been steadfast in our approach to delivering this investment and we’re extremely proud to provide an ecosystem which will allow the automotive industry, as well as complementary industries, to develop and prove their self-driving technology.
"This is a unique opportunity for companies to accelerate their activities to lead the industry – it will allow companies to bring forward their activities in this sector in an efficient and optimised manner, enabling them to solve the real-world problems of integrating their automated products into the public roads, whilst also importantly achieving consumer acceptance."
Chris Reeves, Head of Connected and Autonomous Vehicle Technologies at Horiba Mira, added: "Supported by the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles as part of CAM Testbed UK, ASSURED CAV demonstrates that HORIBA MIRA is again at the forefront of Government and industry’s collaborative approach to ensuring the UK is the best place in the world to develop and deploy CAM.
"Although we’ve seen huge strides made in CAV technologies in recent years, the overriding challenge for the industry is giving consumers confidence that CAVs are safe enough to be on our roads.
"Our new ASSURED CAV ecosystem does just that and is a significant milestone in helping CAV developers bring their vehicles to market.
"Not only will ASSURED CAV help to ensure a seamless development process, it will also foster the innovations and cross-industry partnerships needed to speed up the self-driving revolution and realise the huge economic and societal benefits it will bring."
