A PROJECT that will see driverless vehicles try grass cutting and street cleaning in Oxfordshire has been awarded cash by the Government.

Oxford-based company Amey yesterday said it was working jointly with the Remote Applications in Challenging Environments (RACE) centre at the Culham Science Centre on the scheme.

They plan to build an autonomous car and have it understand tasks currently done manually by people.

Like a similar project also being conducted in Oxford city centre, the vehicles will also gather data about their surroundings such as the condition of streets, air quality and the growth of weeds.

If the 15-month study is successful, the company said it could lead to driverless vehicles being used more commonly for those kinds of tasks.

Rick Robinson, Amey’s director of technology added: “We believe this pioneering study will not only help to transform the quality and quantity of data on road conditions, but will provide cost efficiencies to our clients as well as delivering real improvements in safety and service quality.”

“Innovate UK chief executive Ruth McKernan said: “These successful industry-led research and development projects will further spearhead development of low emission and autonomous vehicle technology, building on our world-leading research and innovation capability in this area and the significant strength of UK businesses large and small in this field.”

The RACE centre is part of the UK Atomic Energy Authority and is a national laboratory for robotics and autonomous technology, bourne out of advances by researchers working on the JET fusion power experiment.

It is hoped that the latest scheme will boost Culhum Science Centre’s profile as a hub for driverless vehicle testing.

Amey said it would ‘become a major test and validation site for the vehicles’, adding: “RACE’s knowledge and network of autonomous vehicle firms will form the basis for the study.”