Team UK Captain, Mark ‘Dot’ Perkins, and Italian team member, Simone Careddu, joined former competitors Jamie Weller and JJ Chalmers to ride in its level-4 autonomous SUV, on public roads in the town of Milton Keynes. The self-driving vehicle navigated roundabouts, traffic lights, speeds of up to 50mph, junctions and lane changes most successfully. Highly innovative and developed as part of the UK Autodrive Consortium, the technology addresses technical challenges posed by urban environments, which include pedestrians, cyclists, security and infrastructure.
The competitors’ feedback helps JLR to understand how autonomous technology might improve the lives of millions of people living with limited mobility. Removing mobility barriers that exist today could enable extraordinary people to achieve extraordinary things, an aspect that is intrinsic to the spirit of the Invictus Games.
Mark ‘Dot’ Perkins said: “Technology has moved on so much that I already feel prehistoric. As my children grow up, it will seem extraordinary to them that people used to drive cars physically.”
Jamie Weller, a veteran Royal Navy aircraft engineer, who suffered a visual impairment in the course of his military career, outlined: “It was a great opportunity to experience the new technology being developed by Jaguar Land Rover. It’s exciting to be discussing cars that could be used by visually impaired people. The technology has so many positive benefits for anyone living with a disability.”
JLR is working hard to understand perceptions and acceptance of self-driving vehicles and how to harness those findings to create experiences that improve customers’ lives. Jim O'Donoghue, the company’s autonomous research engineer, stated: “It’s been fantastic to spend time with the Invictus Games competitors, gaining open and honest feedback from people who truly understand what it’s like to have the freedom of driving taken away, whether temporarily, or permanently.
“Their insight has been invaluable. We are already working with industry, academia and government to bring self-driving cars to the roads within the next 10 years, with the ambition of zero accidents, zero emissions and zero congestion for future generations. To add zero mobility barriers to this list would be a huge achievement and something we are striving for.”
The Invictus Games uses the power of sport to inspire recovery, support rehabilitation and generate a wider understanding and respect for wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women. The fourth Invictus Games will take place in Sydney from October 20th-27th 2018. To learn more about the Invictus Games Sydney 2018, visit: www.invictusgames2018.org.
