Amey, a British subsidiary of Ferrovial Services, recently unveiled a new self-driving vehicle in Australia that will begin running with passengers in March 2020.
At the unveiling, with Sydney’s Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Paul Toole in attendance, the company revealed that testing for this innovative self-driving vehicle will take place in Dubbo, an Australian town 400 kilometers from Sydney. For the tests, the company will operate a self-driving maintenance vehicle from the company’s own operations fleet around the Australian city of Dubbo. The vehicle will pick up passengers who book a trip through the related app.
In line with their continual commitment to innovation, the company is also researching technology that may help detect and prevent collisions between vehicles and animals, thereby protecting drivers and local wildlife on Australia’s regional roads. This is currently a problem on the oceanside, as collisions with animals account for 5% of all accidents on Australian roads. Research into detecting these animals is a critical step in improving safety on local roads.
Michael Holme, project manager at Amey Consulting, assures that,
"The power of technology in supporting mobility for those living in more remote areas of the world is of real importance. The trial shows the practical outcomes that can be delivered for our communities in Australia when investment is made into smart infrastructure."
Firm commitment to innovation
Amey, as part of the People in Autonomous Vehicles in Urban Environments (PAVE) Consortium, works with British authorities and industry partners to explore the potential impact of self-driving vehicles on infrastructure in the United Kingdom. This project studies the interactions between self-driving vehicles and traffic management systems to understand their impact on urban environments. In addition, the company has developed the Automated Lane Closure System, a mechanism for putting a vehicle capable of safely deploying and collecting road beacon signals into operation. This prevents employees from having to leave the vehicle to do this work, thereby reducing workplace accidents on roads related to this type of task.
