POOLE’S Siemens is involved in a project which could see driverless vehicles trialled on British roads as early as next year.

The traffic systems specialist, which employs around 500 people at Sopers Lane, is part of a consortium which has won funding from the government’s £100million Intelligent Mobility Fund.

The 10 partners in the UK Connected Intelligent Transport Environment (UK CITE) project aim to create one of the most advanced environments for connected and autonomous vehicles (CAV) in the UK.

The project aims to enable companies to try connected vehicle technologies in real-life conditions on 40 miles of roads in Coventry and Warwickshire

It will use combinations of dedicated short range communications (DSRC) and long term evolution (LTE) wireless technologies to compare their performance.

Siemens will develop, supply and install roadside units which will communicate with the vehicles and the traffic infrastructure.

This technology will help establish how technology can improve journeys, reduce traffic congestion and provide in-vehicle entertainment and safety services through better connectivity.

Gordon Wakeford, head of Siemens’ mobility division in the UK, said: “We’re delighted to be utilising our ingenuity towards this unique UK CITE project with our consortium partners. Siemens is actively engaged in a number of vehicle-to-infrastructure research projects worldwide, establishing communication links between traffic infrastructure and motorists to help influence the way they drive.”

The first phase of the project will run until the end of 2016 and will include the preparation of infrastructure on routes along the M40, M42, A46, and A45 – as well as an urban route in Coventry. It will also involve preparation of an app which will ensure roadside messages appear in vehicles, either on the dashboard display or a smartphone.

Pre-test trials will take place on Horiba Mira’s City Circuit testing ground, with trials on public roads likely to start in 2017.

The UK CITE consortium is led by Visteon Engineering Services and Jaguar Land Rover. The other partners are Coventry City Council, Coventry University, Highways England Company Ltd, Horiba Mira, Huawei Technologies (UK) Ltd, Siemens, Vodafone Group Services Ltd, and WMG at University of Warwick.