Two new partners have joined the largest real-world Connected and Automated Mobility testbed in the UK, with Vodafone and Immense signing up as partners.

More than 300 miles of West Midlands’ roads are set to trial connected and automated vehicles, with the aim of making roads safer and allowing for more predictable goods delivery and journey times.

Vodafone will deploy new 5G macro coverage along the route to strengthen the capability of Midlands Future Mobility meaning that, along with Wireless Infrastructure Group, 80% of the Midlands Future Mobility route will have 5G connectivity. Immense will bring large scale simulations to Midlands Future Mobility.

Midlands Future Mobility is funded by business partners and the UK Government as part of the wider Zenzic CAM Testbed UK initiative that facilitates and promotes the development of connected and self-driving cars. Midlands Future Mobility is backed by a consortium of organisations, including WMG at the University of Warwick, HORIBA MIRA, AVL, Transport for West Midlands, Costain, Amey, Wireless Infrastructure Group, Coventry University and Highways England.

The Midlands Future Mobility route offers a combination of campus (mini-city), urban, rural and highways roads on which CAM trials can be supported. The route encompasses major city centres (Coventry and Birmingham) and key interchanges (rail, HS2 and Birmingham International Airport). The wide range of route types provides businesses with opportunities to trial different technologies, from low speed ‘shared space’ vehicles through to next generation Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and autonomous vehicle technologies.