Darwin Autonomous Shuttle

‘Darwin the Shuttle Runs Away’, the children’s book based on the Darwin Autonomous Shuttle, has now been released in Spanish!

‘Darwin se escapa’ is a picture book aimed at children between four and eight years old. It tells the story of a lively but insecure self-driving vehicle called Darwin, who, afraid of being driven, runs away to start a new life as a bus. The original text was written in English by Harriet Evans and has been translated into Spanish by Leticia García.

Darwin Innovation Group, a company specialising in ubiquitous connectivity and software development for autonomous vehicles, has established a strategic collaboration with global IT services company Cognizant. The relationship aims to broaden the reach of the autonomous vehicle market by introducing new vehicle management tools and reliable vehicle connectivity, making use of both 5G and satellite communications.

We were honoured to welcome Viljar Lubi, Ambassador of Estonia to the UK, to 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 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.

Residents of Oxford may have spotted something unusual this September: a self-driving vehicle on the city’s streets. The Darwin Autonomous Shuttle usually operates at Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, but it spent ten days in Oxford to demonstrate how autonomous public transport can coexist with live traffic in a busy city.