Darwin Autonomous Shuttle features in GSMA case study

The Darwin Autonomous Shuttle, a self-driving passenger service, has been carrying people around Harwell Science and Innovation Campus for over two years now. Run by Darwin Innovation Group with the support of the European Space Agency (ESA) and UK Space Agency, the shuttle service helps to demonstrate the real-world viability of autonomous public transportation.

The service is also interesting from a telecommunications perspective. The shuttle is equipped with Darwin’s ubiquitous communications technology, which allows it to remain connected at all times by switching seamlessly between satellite and mobile networks.

The GSMA is a longstanding pillar in the world of mobile communications and helps to promote cooperation in the industry, organising events such as the annual Mobile World Congress. The GSMA Foundry, as part of its activities to support innovation in the world of telecommunications, has published a case study of the Darwin Autonomous Shuttle. This study examines the shuttle’s operations to date and looks ahead to future expansions of the service.

‘In order to reliably inform regulators and insurers about every aspect of CAVs [connected and autonomous vehicles], we need long-running services,’ Daniela Petrovic, Darwin’s co-founder, says in the case study. ‘Previous CAV trials were of short duration and provided a limited amount of information. Having run the service for two years now, we believe that we operate the most significant CAV service in the UK in terms of information and knowledge created.’

A PDF of the case study is available here on the GSMA website.

Darwin Innovation Group is a UK-based company that provides services related to autonomous vehicles and communications. If you’re interested in working with us, take a look at our careers page. If you’d like to know how we can help your organisation make use of autonomous vehicles, contact us. You can also follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter.

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