If you suffer from techno-joy – an insatiable desire to buy the latest gadget, rip open the packing, throw the instructions out the window, switch it on and start using it immediately without a second thought, you need to pay attention!

The GATEway project is looking for people to take part in workshops and trials for its driverless shuttle (pods) in Greenwich, London, later this year. So this is your chance to be a part of the technological revolution as it happens.

The workshops and trials are part of an £8million research project to investigate the use, perception and acceptance of autonomous vehicles in the UK. This is the perfect opportunity to discuss and debate how driverless vehicles might impact our cities and possibly ride in a driverless shuttle too.

• Places are limited so if you’re interested, register now and you might be chosen to take part.
• Workshops will take place in Greenwich between June – August 2016.
• Each workshop will be 2.5 hours long and are open to both the public and those with a professional interest.

Government support
Business Secretary Sajid Javid commented:  “Making driverless cars a reality is going to revolutionise our roads and travel, making journeys safer, faster, and more environmentally-friendly. Very few countries can match our engineering excellence in the automotive sector or our record on innovative research, and this announcement shows we are already becoming one of the world’s leading centres for driverless cars technology.”

Professor Nick Reed, Director at TRL and Technical Lead of the GATEway project added: “The move to automated vehicles is probably the most significant change in transport since the transition from horse drawn carriages to motorised vehicles. Testing these vehicles in a living environment, like the UK Smart Mobility Living Lab, takes the concept from fiction to reality. It gives the public a chance to experience what it’s like to ride in an automated vehicle and to make their own mind up as to how much they like it, trust it and could accept it as a service in the city.”

A sceptical public

Judging by the comments shared on our driverless blog and Adrian Flux’s own driverless car survey, the British public aren’t hell bent on letting go of the wheel just yet but who knows, given time, that may change.

70% thought they might never own a driverless car and just over five per cent said they would embrace the new tech when it finally rolls out, with 24% undecided. Some people also saw a benefit of using driverless cars on motorways for example.

Local to Greenwich or knowledge of Greenwich?

People with experience or knowledge of Greenwich in particular, are also being encouraged to share their views on how driverless vehicles might impact the local area using an online mapping tool.

“The aim of the site is to give those familiar with the Greenwich area a chance to provide input on where and how driverless vehicles could work in and around Greenwich. It’s about putting local people right at the centre of exciting transformation and giving them a chance to influence decision making in this area,” commented Mike Saunders, Co-Founder of Commonplace (creators of the mapping tool).

GATEway (Greenwich Automated Transport Environment) is one of three projects awarded by Innovate UK under its competition entitled ”Introducing driverless cars to UK roads.” The other two projects are UK Autodrive in Coventry and Milton Keynes, and Venturer in Bristol.