VENTURER driverless car project publishes results of first trials

VENTURER is the first Connected and Autonomous Vehicle project to start in the UK. The results of VENTURER preliminary trials show that the handover process is a safety critical issue in the development of Autonomous Vehicles (AVs). The first VENTURER trials set out to investigate'takeover' (time taken to reengage with vehicle controls) and'handover' (time taken to regain a baseline/normal level of driving behaviour and performance) when switching frequently between automated and manual driving modes within urban and extra-urban settings. This trial is believed to be the first to directly compare handover to human driver-control from autonomous mode in both simulator and autonomous road vehicle platforms. The handover process is important from a legal and insurance perspective – the length of time it takes people to regain full control of the vehicle represents a meaningful risk to insurers and understanding when control is transferred between the vehicle and the driver has liability implications.