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ITS provides superhighway for autonomous vehicle testbed

Full fibre network operator ITS has completed the design and build of a full fibre network to support real-world testing of connected and autonomous vehicles (CAV) at London’s Smart Mobility Living Lab (SMLL) based in the Royal Borough of Greenwich and Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

The full fibre network has connected 34 sensor sites across the testbed and will provide critical connectivity and communications infrastructure to ensure vehicles can make the vital decisions needed to navigate their way around the road networks safely – negotiating the many obstacles encountered on journeys including traffic lights, traffic jams, pedestrian crossings, roundabouts, and the unexpected.

It enables users of the testbed to watch live vehicle testing out on the roads, from the SMLL control rooms.

ITS has provided the fibre infrastructure that will help to ensure the SMLL testbed is at the forefront of CAV testing and validation, as well as helping to gain acceptance of driverless vehicles by the public across the globe.

Full fibre network operator ITS, has announced it has completed the fibre infrastructure which will provide connectivity along the routes of the Smart Mobility Living Lab (SMLL), Europe’s most advanced real-world testbed facilitating the development of future mobility solutions.

ITS has supplied SMLL with a private fibre network to meet the complex needs of the testbed, building 20km of full fibre spine using its ‘dig once’ approach. By reusing existing ducting including ducts built for the 2012 Olympic Games, ITS has avoided disruptive civil digs.

The fibre infrastructure, situated in the heart of London, with facilities in the Royal Borough of Greenwich and the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, has been designed to support 5G and has been installed to connect 34 ‘Vehicle to Roadside’ sensors, CCTV, radar and lidar. It is this connectivity that will allow the Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs) to navigate the complex urban environment of a city by being able to ‘see’ what’s ahead. It also allows clients to watch their on-road vehicle testing live from the SMLL control rooms.

“We are delighted to have delivered this fibre network to the SMLL team, as part of this innovative connected and autonomous mobility initiative. This project showcases the role that full fibre has in underpinning transformative technologies. As one of the world’s most complex proving grounds for autonomous vehicles, SMLL will attract customers from around the globe to test, develop and deploy CAV solutions and, in the process, will establish the UK as a leader in this field. We are proud that our full fibre infrastructure will underpin this and help to shape the future of mobility and transport.”

Daren Baythorpe, CEO of ITS

This full fibre project has been completed following ITS’ £45m investment deal with Aviva Investors at the start of the year.

About SMLL

Smart Mobility Living Lab (SMLL) is London’s real-world connected environment for testing and developing future transport and mobility solutions. The locations of the Royal Borough of Greenwich and nearby Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford provide a complex public testing environment, capable of demonstrating and evaluating the use, performance, safety and benefits of CAV technology and future transport services in an accessible and globally recognised environment.

The consortium comprises world-leading expertise from across the transport and technology sectors, including TRL, DG Cities, Cisco, Cubic, Loughborough University, Transport for London and the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, and is supported by Innovate UK, and the UK Government’s Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (C-CAV) For more information, please visit https://smartmobility.london/

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