Meet The UK's Very Own Driverless Car

The UK government wants a turn in the spotlight with it's first driverless car. Looks like Google's self driving car is not the only one in the herd. A couple of months ago, we heard about a series of driverless car trials it was funding to push Britain's R&D image. That's now been backed up with an official review which concluded that automated vehicles are safe enough to be tested on public roads, provided a safety driver is present and they comply with normal traffic laws.

It's a massive green light for any researcher in the UK that's been interested in this technology. While a household name like Google isn't involved just yet, we're already seeing some vehicles that could fly the flag for Britain. One of those is the Lutz, a small driverless pod with a long, arching windscreen and chunky, futuristic wheel caps. It's designed for pedestrianised spaces rather than the open road, but its unusual design and Union Jack decals should make it just as memorable as Google's vehicle.

The Lutz can seat two people and scoot around for 40 miles, or roughly six hours on a single charge. With a top speed of 15mph, it's by no means the fastest mode of public transportation, but it should be just fine for helping commuters, shoppers and the elderly complete short journeys. It's packing some serious hardware under the hood too: twin cameras and LIDAR sensors are fitted on the front, alongside a further two cameras and a single LIDAR on the back. They're flanked by another two cameras on either side, which combine to give the vehicle a detailed 360-degree picture of its surroundings.


                 

Share on Google Plus

About techbite

TechBite is a blog updated several times daily trying to bring you the latest developments in technology. Dont forget to follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google +