Autonomous Car Project Seeks To Emulate Natural Human Driving In UK Driving Environment

HORIBA MIRA, a world-leader in advanced vehicle engineering, research, development and testing, is to develop safety guidance in the autonomous car project, ‘HumanDrive’ announced last week.

The HumanDrive project, led by Nissan’s European Technical Centre as part of Renault-Nissan Alliance research activities, will culminate in the most complex journey yet attempted across the UK without human driver input.

The focus of the HumanDrive project is to develop a vehicle that will emulate a natural human driving style, providing an enhanced experience for the occupants. To achieve this, the project will draw upon the expertise of a variety of organisations, including Aimsun Ltd, Atkins, Cranfield University, Highways England, Hitachi, HORIBA MIRA, SBD Automotive, Transport Systems Catapult and the University of Leeds.

As a partner in the HumanDrive project, HORIBA MIRA will be developing safety case guidance for using Artificial Intelligence (AI) in automated vehicles. This technology is key for both emulating human driving in automated vehicles and in enabling autonomous vehicles to perceive their surroundings. HORIBA MIRA will also support the development of proving ground environment test scenarios prior to trialling on UK roads.

Chris Reeves, Head of Connected Autonomous Vehicles at HORIBA MIRA, said

“We have a long-established reputation as the leading partner of choice for vehicle-driven attributes engineering. Complementing our deep engineering expertise in this field, this new investment further strengthens our position and enables us to increasingly lead the way in engineering solutions for the rapidly changing needs of future mobility.”