SELF-DRIVING Jaguar and Land Rover cars have been spotted in Milton Keynes as UK driverless tests plough on.
The UK Autodrive project – which also includes Ford – is continuing to use public roads and car parks despite the tragic Uber death.
The ride-hailing app has stopped its testing again and Toyota has also pulled the plug on its Stateside trials.
But the UK is carrying on with its £20million project and has displayed its latest car park technology today on the Jag F-Pace, Range Rover Sport and even a Ford Mondeo.
The multi-million research is the world’s first to feature cars from multiple manufacturers “talking” to each other.
The clever software will let other nearby cars know when a parking space becomes free.
The “collaborative parking” technology is being tested on the streets and car parks of Milton Keynes.
It’s hoped it could slash the time drivers spend hunting for a spot – with Brits estimated to waste a day every year doing so.
The tech demo also showed off cars talking to infrastructure like traffic lights.
Christian Ress, a research supervisor for Ford, said: “With our research into ‘collaborative parking’, we see an opportunity to hand that time back to drivers, helping them enjoy happier, healthier and more efficient journeys.”
Despite the benefits, driverless cars have endured a difficult week after the fatal accident in the US.
A 49-year-old woman was hit by a car and killed as she crossed the street in Tempe, Arizona.
all you need to know about driverless cars
It’s the first death of a pedestrian associated with autonomous motors – but not the first car accident featuring driverless tech.
Volvo previously delayed its roll out of driverless cars over safety concerns, too.
It comes just a week after Waymo revealed how safe driverless cars were with human tests sitting in the car– and a video displaying how much cars could “see” while driving.