The LUTZ Pathfinder is a prototype

autonomous In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one's ow ...

microcar Microcar is a term often used for the smallest size of cars, with three or four wheels and often an engine smaller than . Specific types of microcars include bubble cars, cycle cars, invacar, quadricycles and voiturettes. Microcars are often ...

. The two-seater prototype pod has been built by

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...

-based RDM Group, and was first shown to the public in February 2015. The LUTZ (Low-carbon Urban Transport Zone) Pathfinder pod is part of the UK Government's Transport Systems

Catapult A catapult is a ballistic device used to launch a projectile a great distance without the aid of gunpowder or other propellants – particularly various types of ancient and medieval siege engines. A catapult uses the sudden release of stored p ...

Autodrive project, a £20 million project. Three pods were tested initially in

Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city and the largest settlement in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of its urban area was over . The River Great Ouse forms its northern boundary; a tributary ...

during 2015 to ensure that they can comply with the

Highway Code ''The Highway Code'' is a set of information, advice, guides and mandatory rules for road users in the United Kingdom. Its objective is to promote road safety. The ''Highway Code'' applies to all road users including pedestrians, horse riders ...

Specification

The pod is a two-seater electric car with space for luggage. It has a limited top speed of and has a range of or can run for eight hours. The self-driving equipment includes 19 sensors, cameras, radar and

Lidar Lidar (, also LIDAR, or LiDAR; sometimes LADAR) is a method for determining ranges (variable distance) by targeting an object or a surface with a laser and measuring the time for the reflected light to return to the receiver. It can also be ...

. Users can hail them by using a smartphone app. The autonomous control software is developed by Mobile Robotics Group from

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

Partners

The Lutz Pathfinder pod has been developed by the

UK Automotive Council The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills , type = Department , logo = Department for Business, Innovation and Skills logo.svg , logo_width = 200px , logo_caption = , picture = File:Лондан. 2014. Жнівень 26.JPG , seal = , se ...

and RDM Group.

Public trials

The first trial of autonomous operation on a public road, with pedestrians, cycles and other vehicles, was conducted in Milton Keynes on 11 October 2016. The vehicles "operated as expected."

References

External links

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RDM Group product page
{{Mobile robots Experimental self-driving cars Electric vehicles