Driverless cars will be tested in the UK for the first time as part of a £1.5million project aimed at boosting green technology.
From 2015, a batch of 20 autonomous "pods", which are capable of speeds of up 12mph, will be used to transport people around Milton Keynes on a network of dedicated pathways.
It is hoped that there will be 100 examples of the two-seater pods in use by 2017. Similar pods are already in operation at Heathrow Airport.
Each journey will cost £2 and the pods are expected to generate £1m of revenue in their first year of operation.
The scheme was announced by Business Secretary Vince Cable, who said: "By 2050, very few -- if any -- new cars will be powered solely by the traditional internal combustion engines, so it is important that the UK car industry is at the cutting edge of low-carbon technologies."
Google has already been licence to carry out experiments with driverless vehicles in the USA and Volvo has also been investing heavily in the future of autonomous vehicles; however, some studies have indicated that the public is sceptical about the proposition of autonomous transportation.
Image: Department for Business
Click here to sign up for our monthly newsletter
| Popular news stories |
||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||
