Self-driving vehicle work wins industry innovation award for Westfield
The Black Country company at the heart of the country's research into self-driving vehicles has picked up a major auto industry award.
Westfield Technology Group, based on the Pensnett Estate in Kingswinford, received the Innovation pri\e at the Autocar Awards 2018.
Julian Turner, chief executive officer of Westfield Technology Group, accepted the award at Silverstone Circuit. He said: “Westfield are at the forefront of British autonomous vehicle development which will radically change the automotive industry in the near future.
"We’re very proud of our team and what we’ve accomplished and feel honoured to be receiving such positive recognition from industry peers. We look forward to continuing our work advancing autonomous vehicle development in the UK.”
The Westfield POD is the UK’s first fully electric, autonomous vehicle for first mile – last mile transportation. The POD has been developed in conjunction with Heathrow Airport and utilises the base technology platform from the work completed by ULTra PRT (Personal Rapid Transit). The original system has now completed over 5 million kilometres in a live commercial environment serving Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 POD Parking.
Having recently tested the POD in the Lake District National Park, Westfield says it is aiming to radically improve sustainable transportation. The POD will offer users a flexible, convenient and safe way to travel in densely populated cities and rural towns and villages.
Alongside the Westfield POD, the company is also developing the UK’s first autonomous low volume M1 Vehicle. The GTM, a two-seater sports car, will be able to drive in manual or fully autonomous mode. The GTM will be available in petrol, hybrid and pure electric. Key features of the GTM will include: platooning (operating vehicles in a virtual train one metre apart at 70mph), virtual concierge and graphene supercapacitor allowing for safe and rapid charging.
