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Autonomous EV cargo vans being tested in the UK
UK-based firm Oxa has been testing SAE Level 4 vehicles in the UK since 2020, and is now testing a Ford E-Transit-based autonomous van, with the model becoming the first mass-produced vehicles to be converted with the company's proprietary Reference Autonomy Designs (RADs).
The E-Transit-based vans preview an operational ride-pooling service that could carry multiple passengers, and that could be summoned via a ride-hailing app, or perform delivery tasks.
But making the jump from a single sedan that transports one person or one party at a time to a minibus or cargo van that can carry multiple people and items to different destinations is more challenging.
For instance, there are safety monitoring considerations that apply to multi-person passenger vans in many jurisdictions that make them different from a taxi. And the number of cities that currently permit driverless, SAE Level 4 passenger cars isn't vast. Likewise, driverless cargo delivery largely remains in the trial stages by a number of developers.
"RADs are defined, prototyped, and validated by Oxa, before being used by vehicle OEMs and approved upfitters to mass produce AVs, with flexible distribution and licensing models," Oxa notes.
Oxa's development of its own, configurable hardware and software suite follows years of testing of advanced autonomous systems in the UK, including Ford Mondeo-based robotaxis that debuted in October 2020.
The RADs permit what Oxa calls the rapid integration of autonomous hardware and software into production models, having been designed with a variety of different vehicles in mind. What's more, this hardware and software suite is designed to be integrated by third parties as well.
But making the jump from a single sedan that transports one person or one party at a time to a minibus that can carry multiple people to different destinations is something that even US robotaxi industry leader Waymo hasn't launched at the moment, with a number of aspects of such a service remaining to be sorted out.
For one thing, there are safety monitoring considerations that apply to multi-person passenger vans in many jurisdictions that make them different from a taxi. And the number of cities that currently permit driverless, SAE Level 4 passenger cars isn't vast. Likewise, driverless cargo delivery largely remains in the trial stages by a number of developers.
"RADs are defined, prototyped, and validated by Oxa, before being used by vehicle OEMs and approved upfitters to mass produce AVs, with flexible distribution and licensing models," Oxa notes.
Oxa's development of its own, configurable hardware and software suite follows years of testing of advanced autonomous systems in the UK, including Ford Mondeo-based robotaxis that debuted in October 2020.
The RADs permit what Oxa calls the rapid integration of autonomous hardware and software into production models, having been designed with a variety of different vehicles in mind. What's more, this hardware and software suite is designed to be integrated by third parties as well.
Published On: 14/11/2024 15:00:00
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