Innovative ideas that could accelerate the introduction of driverless cars on public roads are sought by CIHT and the Transport Systems Catapult (TSC).
The two organisations say they launched the Connected & Autonomous Vehicles Challenge competition in order to find the best new ideas among postgraduate students, young professionals and academics.
Applicants are asked to submit hardware or software solutions in areas such as services, security, data and urban planning. The contest is running on the intelligent mobility knowledge platform IMExchange.co.uk and will be judged by a panel of three experts.
Examples of submissions welcomed by the competition include solutions to make driverless cars safer through collision avoidance or detection systems, ride hailing smartphone apps to help users interact with vehicles and improved data streaming equipment to help with navigation.
Entries are welcome until 15 February next year through the IMExchange website and the winner will be announced on 16 May. He or she will receive an iPad courtesy of Zyncd. Further prizes will be sponsored by CIHT and the TSC.
The connected and autonomous vehicle market is projected to be worth £51bn a year within a decade and promises many benefits to road users and the transport network as a whole.
CIHT President Sue Sharland said, 'Ways in which transport systems are planned, designed, built, operated and accessed by users have changed beyond recognition over the last 20 years and will change even more over the next 20. Autonomous vehicles will bring huge benefits as well as significant challenges for the sector. We look forward to seeing the ideas and solutions that this competition gives an opportunity to demonstrate.'
TSC chief technical officer Paul Zanelli added, 'There is a huge growth market emerging for autonomous vehicles and we are keen to ensure that the UK remains ahead of the game. Autonomous vehicles will likely bring a whole host of benefits to the transport network including improved road safety, reduced emissions and an improved journey experience. We're looking forward to seeing how the innovative ideas generated by this competition will bring these benefits sooner.'
