The UltraPods have been operating at Terminal 5 for nearly five years, carrying 1.5 million passengers and completed three million kilometres.
Professor Nick Reed, academy director at TRL and technical director for Gateway, said: “The addition of three prominent and respected British organisations to the Gateway consortium further strengthens the UK’s position as a leader in autonomous technologies.
“Each company brings a great deal of experience to the project which will prove valuable in helping us to understand how the public and industry will adapt to the use of automated vehicles in the UK Smart Mobility Living Lab test environment in Greenwich.
“If the trials prove successful, we expect these iconic vehicles to become a familiar sight in many cities around the world.”
Kit car manufacturer Westfield Sportcars will be responsible for design and testing, with Heathrow Enterprises looking after software engineering and Oxford University robotics lab spin-off Oxbotica will provide mapping and sensors to ensure safety.
Julian Turner, CEO of Westfield Sportscars said: “We’re really pleased to be a part of the Gateway consortium and are looking forward to bringing our innovative, lightweight, technology to a well-known and tried and tested platform.”
The £8m Gateway project (Greenwich Automated Transport Environment) has been jointly funded by Innovate UK and the industry.
