A consortium of British companies, including Oxbotica, Nominet and Transport for London, is aiming to test driverless cars on UK roads and motorways in 2019.

The Driven group, led by Oxbotica, has received over £8m in funding from the UK government’s CCAV (Centre for Connect and Autonomous Vehicles) £13m investment in the UK’s self-driving industry. The consortium intends for the project to culminate in autonomous vehicles travelling from London to Oxford.

Other partners in the consortium include the Oxford Robotic Institute, insurer XL Catlin, Telefonica, the Transport Research Laboratory, the UK Atomic Energy Authority’s (UKAEA) Remote Applications in Challenging Environments (RACE) facility, Oxfordshire County Council and Westbourne Communications.

“The Driven team brings together the right combination of interests and enthusiasm to change the conversation in this exciting field from mostly speculation to real world detail,” said Rob Buckingham, RACE director. “Driven will show how autonomous vehicles will change the world, both for the public and industrial users.

“Driven is important because it will answer questions around cyber security and insurance as well as the underlying technology.

“Starting in Oxfordshire we are already thinking about how autonomous vehicles fit within a modern transport plans for both Oxford and Didcot Garden Town.”