NEWS

We were honoured to welcome Viljar Lubi, Ambassador of Estonia to the UK, to Darwin’s UK headquarters at Harwell Science and Innovation Campus on 8 February. Ambassador Lubi was interested in the work we're doing to bring Estonia-based Auve Tech's autonomous shuttle to UK roads. The day of Ambassador Lubi’s visit was cold but beautifully sunny. The ambassador had the opportunity to ride both the Darwin Autonomous Shuttle and Auve’s Iseauto autonomous shuttle, and paid a visit to the Darwin SatCom Lab to learn more about our work. Ambassador Lubi was also able to learn more about the progress being made at Harwell Campus in general, with an introduction to the campus at Harwell HQ. Harwell is an incredible hub for research and technological development in the UK, and Darwin is proud to be one of the many on-site organisations working to change the world. Thank you for receiving me this morning. I am absolutely certain that this collaboration will blow our minds in no time! People, fasten your seat belts and be ready! @AuveTech @darwininnovate @TaaviRoivas https://t.co/ww9tmsBwOY — Viljar Lubi (@ViljarLubi) February 8, 2023 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.

In 2022, LEAP became the largest debut tech event in history, with over 100,000 attendees. It’s a great opportunity to connect with innovators across different industries, and Darwin was pleased to attend the second LEAP conference this year. The 2023 LEAP tech conference was held between 6 and 9 February at Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh Front Expo Centre. Saudi Arabia is an important hub for innovation, with a growing interest in areas such as artificial intelligence and smart infrastructure. Darwin’s CEO Milos Petrovic and VP of Sales and Business Development Adnan Salkic went to the conference in order to forge connections and demonstrate Darwin’s work. Our strategic partner Auve Tech was at the conference as well, and we took the opportunity to demonstrate Darwin’s continuous connectivity solution together. We’re looking forward to launching Auve’s autonomous shuttle on UK roads. Milos and Adnan also had the pleasure of meeting Neil Crompton, the British Ambassador to Saudi Arabia. On the evening of 6 February, we attended an event held by the British Embassy Riyadh, where we presented Darwin’s work to the audience and to Lord Dominic Johnson, the UK’s Minister for Investment. Among others, we also presented Darwin's unique communications solution to Zain, NEOM, STC, Aramco and the Communications, Space and Information Technology Commission. In preparation for LEAP, we put together a poster showcasing our autonomous vehicle services and our Hybrid User Terminal (HUT), which allows vehicles to remain connected at all times by switching seamlessly between terrestrial and satellite networks. Take a look at the poster here. For innovation to thrive, people and organisations need to work together. At Darwin, we’re able to achieve great things with the support of our partners, and we’re proud to support them in return. When people from different fields gather together and pool their skills, new things become possible. Events like this one are crucial for making new connections and enabling us all to take a leap forward. 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.

The Darwin Autonomous Shuttle service began in late 2021, making it the longest-running autonomous passenger service in the UK. Throughout the service, the shuttle has been looked after by Darwin’s trained and dedicated safety operators. Darwin’s operators have now expanded their range of expertise by completing their training to operate Iseauto, a self-driving shuttle developed by Auve Tech. Auve is an Estonian developer of self-driving vehicles, and its shuttles have already been deployed in countries such as Finland and Greece. Its modern, compact autonomous shuttle will be operated alongside the existing Darwin Autonomous Shuttle at Harwell Science and Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire. Like the current Darwin Autonomous Shuttle, the Auve shuttle at Harwell will be insured by Darwin’s partner Aviva. Currently, the UK’s automated vehicle trialling Code of Practice requires a trained safety operator to monitor the situation at all times during autonomous vehicle trials. By training its operators on different shuttles, Darwin is broadening the scope of what it can do with autonomous vehicles. Bringing the Auve shuttle to Harwell will help to establish multiple manufacturers of connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs) in the UK. Broadening the variety of vehicles available is valuable, as different vehicles have different strengths. For example, Auve’s vehicles are particularly suited for environments with harsh weather conditions. By expanding its autonomous vehicle fleet, Darwin intends to introduce the public to a variety of self-driving vehicles, gather data, and understand the service needs of different CAVs. This will help Darwin to develop the CAV market in the UK and refine its platform of CAV services, including training operators, commissioning new CAV routes and maintaining autonomous vehicles. Darwin’s technology, developed in collaboration with Telefónica, ESA and Hispasat, makes it possible to track and monitor the shuttle in real time. The existing Darwin Autonomous Shuttle can be tracked from a public webpage created by Darwin and Cognizant, including some gathered statistics; as of January 2023, the shuttle has autonomously travelled over 5,000 miles and carried over 1,000 passengers. All of this is made possible by Harwell Campus supporting the on-site operation of autonomous vehicles, and Darwin is grateful to campus management for their vision and encouragement of innovation. The Auve shuttle training follows other activities between Darwin and Auve, including a visit from the Darwin team to Auve’s headquarters in Estonia. Darwin is looking forward to welcoming Auve to Harwell and plans to start transporting passengers with the new autonomous shuttle in the coming months. 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.

Darwin was founded with the goal of combining terrestrial and satellite communications; you can read the story of our founding here. We’ve made huge strides in the intervening time, and we’re pleased to report a new landmark: we’ve been granted a patent for our vehicle communications technology. In a moving vehicle, it can be difficult to remain connected to terrestrial networks. If you’ve ever tried to use the internet while travelling through the countryside in a car or train, you’ll probably know this all too well. It’s common to move into areas that aren’t currently covered by terrestrial networks, or to experience brief interruptions in service as your device switches from one network to another. Darwin’s technology, patented under the name ‘Routing vehicle-to-everything communications’, enables vehicles to stay reliably connected on the move. Our technology monitors the quality of available terrestrial and satellite networks and, when the current network becomes unreliable or unavailable, it seamlessly routes the connection through the best available alternative. By using satellites to supplement terrestrial networks, we enable vehicles to remain connected almost anywhere. In addition, by switching seamlessly between networks, we avoid the interruptions in service that devices might otherwise experience when making network changes. The patent number is GB2588373, and you can view the details of the patent on the Intellectual Property Office’s website. The Certificate of Grant of Patent is also available here. If you’re a vehicle manufacturer or you operate a large fleet or transport service that could benefit from improved connectivity, get in touch and we’d be happy to discuss your needs. 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.

15 December 2022 was a chilly day in Oxford, with temperatures well below freezing. We’re delighted that so many people were willing to brave the weather and join us for a festive dinner at the University of Oxford’s Balliol College. Every year, Darwin traditionally celebrates all efforts by the team, partners and suppliers with a meal at one of Oxford’s colleges. The University of Oxford plays an important part in Darwin’s successes, and our connection with academia can also be seen in our work with the University of Glasgow, the University of Málaga, Sorbonne University etc. During pre-dinner drinks, we were treated to a talk about the 760-year history of Balliol. Balliol College was founded in 1263, making it one of Oxford’s oldest colleges, although the colleges tend to clash over exactly which one is the oldest. After learning about our host, Darwin’s employees, suppliers and partners sat down for a meal together. It was an evening of warmth in the midst of December, with good food, good conversation and good speeches. To open the meal, Daniela Petrovic of Darwin welcomed and thanked us all. To close it, Antonio Franchi of the European Space Agency reflected on all that ESA and Darwin had achieved so far in partnership, and on the exciting projects that lie ahead. At Darwin, we’re grateful for the hard work of all our employees, contractors, partners and suppliers. We work with ideas and technology, but ultimately every success we’ve had is due to the hard work of individuals. It was a pleasure to bring people together and celebrate what we’ve achieved, and we’re looking forward to reaching greater heights in 2023. 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.