UK eyes autonomous and remote control trucks

News 30 Sep 2021 by WCN Editorial

British Prime Minister visits Aidrivers as automaton and remote control are touted as the long-term solution to the UK’s trucking crisis

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Autonomous trucks, remote-controlled vehicles and platooning are all being discussed in the UK at the moment as potential solutions to the truck driver shortage that is gripping the UK.

Against this backdrop, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson paid a visit to Aidrivers’ headquarters in Uxbridge, near London and located in the PM’s own constituency of Uxbridge and South Ruislip.

Aidrivers provides artificial intelligence-enabled solutions for retrofitting into new and existing vehicles including trucks and cranes, so they can be operated autonomously in mixed traffic environments without any infrastructure upgrades. Its technology has been tested at container terminals in the Middle East and in Asia, among other applications.

“During the visit, Boris Johnson met Aidrivers’ founder Dr Rafiq Swash and was shown how the technology works. The Prime Minister also tried the technology, operating simulated autonomous port vehicles using Aidrivers’ digital twin,” Aidrivers said.

Aidrivers’ founder Dr Rafiq Swash welcomes the Prime Minister

Dr Swash said: “We were honoured to receive a visit today from our Prime Minister Boris Johnson and it was a pleasure to show him our cutting-edge technology, which is being used in demanding industrial applications around the world to help make supply chains more resilient and sustainable. His visit recognises the positive impact Aidrivers is having in terms of creating jobs for the new economy, meeting the need of fleet operators to reduce harmful emissions, and helping society and industry become sustainable.”

The UK government has recently published its National AI Strategy which is designed to mark “the start of a step-change for AI in the UK, recognising the power of AI to increase resilience, productivity, growth and innovation across the private and public sectors”.

Companies like Aidrivers are working to be part of that future, and to bring AI-driven automation to the transport sector. Such technology is not the short-term solution the UK needs for the current shortage of HGV drivers, but there is a growing recognition that technology will play a role in developing a more efficient logistics system, including autonomous transport.