Member Article

RDM Group showcase driverless pods in Australia

Driverless vehicle technology developed in Coventry is travelling over 10,000 miles to make its debut ‘down under’ next week.

RDM Group has been invited by the Australian Driverless Vehicle Initiative (ADVI) to showcase its new autonomous pods to visitors at the 23rd World Congress on Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) held in Melbourne (10-14th October).

It is the first time the firm has exhibited outside of Europe and underlines its intention to expand into new territories, including the Asia-Pacific market where it is already in talks with Government and Universities on providing ‘first and last mile’ transport solutions.

Delegates to the high-profile show will be able to explore the pod on the ADVI stand and talk to technical experts about the technology used and its capabilities, which include a top speed of 15 mph off highway, an operational range of 60 miles and the fact it can be built in two, four, six and eight-seater variants.

“The ITS World Congress is a fantastic global stage for our business and we are delighted that our technology is generating significant interest thousands of miles away from where it is being developed,” explained David Keene.

“Australia is committed to being at the vanguard of driverless vehicles and we have been in discussions with ADVI for some time now about our autonomous pods and how we can potentially build, market and sell them in the Asia-Pacific region.”

He continued: “We are hoping that by exhibiting one of our ‘Pod Zero’ vehicles we will bring the concept to life and accelerate the public’s appetite for this form of transport, a form of transport that reduces congestion, pollution and at the same time is accessible to people who can’t use mainstream solutions.

“This is just the start of a concerted push in Australia and this includes us signing up as an official partner of the Australian Driverless Vehicle Initiative.”

Executive Director of the ADVI Centre of Excellence, Ms Rita Excell said: “ADVI and its 80 national and international partners look forward to working with RDM to make Australia one of the countries pioneering on-road driverless vehicle research.”

“Australia has become a global hub for driverless vehicle innovation by supporting and attracting leading companies such as RDM. It’s a fantastic display of commitment to industry collaboration and growth in the Asia-Pacific market.”

Pod Zero, fresh from completing the UK’s first public autonomous trial in September, will be staying in Australia after the doors have closed at the ITS World Congress.

With the support of ADVI, the Pod will be making its way to the ADVI Capital City Forums around Australia where the general public will get a chance to experience the future of smart mobility.

ADVI will also display the Pod at several conferences and exhibitions within the Asia-Pacific market over the next year to promote the future of transport, driverless vehicles and the RDM Pod Zero rnage.

Australia has had a long standing link to the UK in traditional automotive manufacturing and building its own manufacturing ecosystem. The region is looking to reverse recent economic fortunes by positioning itself as the leading figure domestically for driverless vehicles and is looking to forge potential relationships with RDM Group.

“There is so much potential in Australia that it would be silly not to explore all avenues that give us a platform to bring our pods to the public,” explained David.

“This includes potentially licensing our technology through a joint venture or it could mean investing in setting up a manufacturing base in Australia…logistically this would offer massive benefits and reduces the build and development lead time significantly.”

In addition to exhibiting at the ITS World Congress, RDM Group will also be taking one of its autonomous vehicles to display at Electronica 2016 in Munich in November.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Russ Cockburn .