On the path along the waterfront of the Greenwich peninsula, on the river Thames in east London, residents have become used to encountering a four-wheeled pod trundling among the runners, walkers, cyclists and dogs. The vehicle runs regularly — at a maximum speed of 10mph, beeping continuously — between the InterContinental Hotel on the west of the peninsula and blocks of flats to the east.
The biggest surprise about the vehicle is not its futuristic appearance but how it is controlled. While current safety rules require a human to monitor the vehicle’s performance and step in to avoid crashes, the pod largely drives itself. It is one of several experiments worldwide aimed at exploring how autonomous vehicles might mesh with city transport systems. All are looking at how a technology being developed mainly for US highways can work in the more confined, chaotic space of city streets.
At the heart of these efforts is an attempt to work out whether driverless vehicles will ease or worsen the impact that private car travel has had on many cities following the highway-building craze of the mid-20th century.