The demonstration was organised at The Centre:MK as part of Milton Keynes’ 50th anniversary celebrations and saw driverless rides being given to members of the media, as well as a number of VIPs – including Secretary of State for Transport Chris Grayling.
“This is a really good bit of innovation and I think it’s also the future of transport, because it’s going to create so many opportunities,” Mr Grayling said, after stepping out of the pod. “It can help with tackling congestion in our cities, and for some of the elderly who may be struggling to drive the way they used to, I think it’s also going to be a godsend.”
Up to 40 of the self-driving pods will be operating on the pavements of Milton Keynes as part of the UK Autodrive project – making January’s event a fitting opportunity to also showcase the technology to the general public for the first time.
The demonstration came just three months after UK Autodrive’s first demonstration of connected and autonomous vehicle technology involving road-based cars.
To read more about January’s pod demonstration, check out this report on the UK Autodrive website. You can also see a video clip of the pod in action on our YouTube account.
