University of Salford Autonomous and Automotive Vehicle Technology

The University of Salford is the first University in the UK to own an autonomous shuttle. The University is looking to use this as an opportunity to gain further funding to increase the operation to a fleet and to schedule routes around the campus and connect it to its surroundings such as Salford Crescent train station and Media City UK in Salford Quays. The catalyst for action is the Autonomous Vehicle and Vehicle Technology course which commenced at the university in the autumn of 2018. The objectives of this project are:

• To provide a mixed environment Connected Automated Vehicle (CAV) test facility; deploy autonomous vehicles on private and public roads; develop the phased plan to test the autonomous pod on the University Campus, with the aim of eventually testing it on the highway and link autonomous vehicles to public transport (train and bus);
• To enhance the new Autonomous Vehicle and Driverless Technology (AVADT) course that started in September 2018 at the University of Salford as well as real life testing of technology - Vehicle to Infrastructure (V2i), Vehicle to Vehicle (V2V), and V2X.
• To provide research opportunities across a wide range of other disciplines including Behavioural Psychology, Law and Transport Geography;
• To gain a better understanding of the new regulatory frameworks and operating models that can enable effective deployment of autonomous vehicles in the UK.

The overall aim of the shuttle service is to integrate it with the local rail and tram network. This will be part of testing beyond phase 2 and is something that will be enhanced through projects with the Salford CAV consortium.

Some of the challenges faced include vehicle registration, health & safety, risk assessments (public roads), campus development, GPS Antenna (range), route mapping & commissioning, operation on public roads.