UK Transport Research Laboratory selects Agility3 to develop model of Greenwich Peninsula as part of innovative GATEway project

Steve. J | April 6, 2016 | Autonomous Vehicles, Electric Vehicles, Future Technology News, Future Transportation | No Comments

The UK’s Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) has chosen to work alongside Agility3 as part of its high-profile Greenwich Automated Transport Environment (GATEway ) project – an £8million research project to investigate the use, perception and acceptance of autonomous vehicles in the UK.

One of three projects awarded by Innovate UK under its ‘Introducing driverless cars to UK roads’ competition, the GATEway project seeks to understand and overcome the technical, legal and societal challenges of implementing automated vehicles in an urban environment.

Led by TRL, the project will investigate a number of different use cases for automated vehicles, using trials of fully automated vehicles; full mission, high fidelity driving simulator tests, and demonstrations of remote vehicle operation.

To support the simulation element of the project, Agility3 will be drawing on its extensive 3D modelling and simulation experience and expertise to develop a 3D virtual environment of the Greenwich Peninsula.

This model will be used within TRL’s full mission, high fidelity driving simulator, DigiCar, to investigate driver behaviour in the presence of automated vehicles.

Agility3 specialises in modelling and simulation, creating highly realistic simulation content and solutions for a wide range of clients, including defence contracts. The company helps clients reduce risks on the programmes they are planning, as well as gain important insights into the same.

The 3D model will provide users with a realistic experience of driving a car on the Greenwich Peninsula, with everything from road layouts, to flowerbeds, to bridges and London landmarks accurately reproduced in detail within the virtual environment.

The model, which is due for completion in September 2016, will play an integral role in helping researchers understand how drivers would react and respond to driverless vehicles in real life road scenarios.

Professor Nick Reed, Academy Director for TRL said “The GATEway project is about understanding how the public learn to trust and accept automated vehicles within an urban environment. As part of the project, we’ll be using our high fidelity driving simulator to investigate how drivers of regular cars respond and adapt their behaviour to the presence of automated vehicles on the roads.

“In order to ensure these trials are successful, it’s vital that we use a realistic 3D model of the Greenwich peninsula road environment to ensure participants feel truly immersed in the simulated driving task. We’ve entrusted the creation of this model to Agility 3 due to the company’s high quality of work, speed of delivery and the cost effectiveness of its solution.”