NEWS

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.

The Darwin Autonomous Shuttle at Harwell Science and Innovation Campus was originally developed by Gaussin Macnica Mobility (Gama), formerly Navya. We were delighted to welcome the Gama team to Harwell to see the shuttle in action. On Tuesday 30 January, Gama account managers Myriam Ichou and Lydia Secher paid a visit to Harwell Campus. They rode around the campus in the self-driving shuttle, then took a tour of the Darwin SatCom Lab and Darwin’s centre of remote vehicle operations at the Satellite Applications Catapult building. Myriam and Lydia also had the chance to visit the Magali Vaissiere Conference Centre, opened in 2023 by the European Space Agency, and to learn about plans for campus expansion at Harwell HQ. Harwell Campus is already a fantastic centre for innovation in the UK, and we’re glad to be able to watch it grow. Of course, the visit was also a great opportunity for Darwin and Gama to discuss how they can work together in the future. We shared our respective plans for the year and talked about future joint projects. Through collaboration, we’re looking to help progress the adoption of autonomous vehicles both in the UK and abroad. ‘It was great to welcome the Gama team to Harwell,’ said Darwin co-founder Daniela Petrovic. ‘We’re looking forward to meeting them again in Paris in February for a continuation of discussions.’ 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.

On 27 October 2023, Darwin’s co-founder and delivery director Daniela Petrovic delivered a class on artificial intelligence and its impact on industry at the University of Glasgow’s Adam Smith Business School. The class was part of the business school’s FinTech programme. Daniela presented the story of Darwin, and she and the students discussed how innovation ecosystems, in which multiple entities combine their knowledge and resources to work towards a common goal, could help mature organisations to take advantage of new technologies. During the session, the class explored how AI could be integrated smoothly into established practices. In a rapidly changing business world, flexibility and modernisation are often crucial to success. ‘It was a great pleasure to deliver a class at the prestigious Adam Smith Business School,’ Daniela said. ‘I very much enjoyed exchanging ideas with the students and getting their views on how AI will shape future corporations.’ Darwin Innovation Group and the University of Glasgow have a longstanding history of collaboration. The Darwin Business Innovation Lab is located at the university and offers guidance to companies that are interested in exploring new technologies, including AI. If you’d like to know more, get in touch. 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.

PIX Moving is a developer and manufacturer of self-driving vehicles, established in China in 2014. By creating modular, customisable autonomous vehicles, PIX Moving aims to fulfil the needs of passengers beyond transportation, enabling moving cafés, cinemas or libraries. On 8 December 2023, PIX Moving visited Darwin Innovation Group at Harwell Science and Innovation Campus. The campus is home to the Darwin SatCom Lab, a collaboration between Darwin and O2, where Darwin develops and tests its services for autonomous vehicles. Through its work with multiple manufacturers of connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs), Darwin is constantly refining and expanding its CAV services, from route commissioning to AI data analysis. The visit was an opportunity for Darwin and PIX Moving to discuss what these two innovative organisations could achieve by working together. We’re looking forward to further exploration of the role Darwin can play in PIX Moving’s work. 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.

Happy New Year from Darwin! Ever since Darwin’s founding in 2019, we’ve had collaboration at our heart. The goal of Darwin Innovation Group wasn’t to strike out alone, but to benefit from the wisdom of experts from other organisations, and to offer support in return. By working together to create an innovation ecosystem, diverse organisations can achieve far more than a single specialised company could achieve alone. 2023 has been a great year for collaboration, full of industry events and opportunities to make connections. From the UK to Canada, Serbia to Saudi Arabia, the UAE to Spain, we’ve been presenting our solutions, meeting new people and planning new projects. The European Space Agency (ESA), our longstanding partner, also held a number of exciting events. It was a pleasure to attend ESA’s Space2Connect conference, Transportation Commercialisation Day and new conference centre opening. We were also thrilled to welcome ESA astronaut Tim Peake aboard the Darwin Autonomous Shuttle. Of course, 2023 has also seen Darwin making further strides in its work with technology. Take a look at our articles about patenting Darwin’s vehicle communications technology, about demonstrating autonomous vehicle remote operations with our partner Cognizant, or about bringing a second autonomous shuttle to Harwell Science and Innovation Campus. At Darwin, we celebrate our achievements with a Christmas dinner at the end of the year. This year, our team celebration took place in the Bothy, a traditional Scottish tavern in Glasgow. It was a great opportunity to look back on our 2023 projects and discuss our plans for 2024. The Darwin Business Innovation Lab at the University of Glasgow is an important part of our journey, together with our other labs in Harwell and Málaga. We wish all our clients and partners a happy new year, and we’re looking forward to achieving new things together in 2024. 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.