The firm is working with Cambridgeshire County Council and Wellcome Genome Campus to deliver a £250,000 feasibility study that will explore the business case for a future £3 million to £5 million self-driving shuttle service across two routes.
The areas under examination will be an existed guided busway at Trumpington Park serving the Cambridge Biomedical Park, and a driverless shuttle service between the Wellcome Genome Campus and Whittlesford Parkway Railway Station on a new off-road pathway.
The feasibility study will investigate key questions about the demand and impact of such a service on the areas involved, the type of vehicles and connected systems required, the best routes for the service and what is the right operating model.
RDM Group, which recently announced expansions in the US and Australia, will design and manufacture a larger version of its four and eight passenger self-driving pods to suit the location and customer needs.
The company will also look at developing vehicle to vehicle and vehicle to infrastructure communications to enable platooning of shuttles along the guided busway, as well as handling real time video feeds for safety, security and management of vehicles.
Dr Richard Fairchild, director of connected and autonomous mobility programmes for RDM Group, said: "Self-driving vehicles are a flexible, responsive, transport service that operates in conjunction with existing train, bus and park and ride services that can make a real impact, improving mobility around Cambridge by reducing congestion and providing first and last mile travel options.
“The feasibility study is the first step in making this project a reality and giving two strategically important sites in Cambridge the opportunity to benefit from a more connected transport network that could benefit up to 15,000 workers and thousands of visitors every day.”
