Phase one of the UK Connected Intelligent Transport Environment (UK CITE) project, which is intended to create an advanced environment for connected and autonomous driving, has begun.

The project received funding from the government’s £100m Intelligent Mobility Fund, which been established to speed up the research and development of connected and autonomous vehicle technologies.

The fund is administered by the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles and delivered by the UK’s innovation agency, Innovate UK.

"The UK CITE project will enable all partners to accelerate their learning on cyber security and safety whilst exploring the commercial opportunities of the connected vehicle area."

As part of the UK CITE project, trials of autonomous and connected vehicles will be undertaken on public roads as early as next year.

The project is worth £7.1m, which includes investment from the government.

It will enable automotive, infrastructure and service companies to trial connected vehicle technology, infrastructure and services in real-life conditions on 40 miles of roads within Coventry and Warwickshire.

The project is aimed at demonstrating how technology can improve journeys, reduce traffic congestion and provide in-vehicle entertainment and safety services through better connectivity.

Comprising leading industry, academic and local and national governmental organisations, the UK CITE consortium is jointly led by Visteon Engineering Services Limited and Jaguar Land Rover and includes Coventry City Council, Coventry University, Highways England Company Ltd, HORIBA MIRA, Huawei Technologies (UK) Ltd, Siemens, Vodafone Group Services Ltd, and WMG at University of Warwick.

Lead consortium partner Visteon Engineering senior business development manager Claire Lewis said: "The UK CITE project is an ideal opportunity for automotive manufacturers, technology and infrastructure providers and service operators, and infrastructure operators to collaborate to develop a real-world test bed for connected technology in a non-competitive environment.

"The UK CITE project will enable all partners to accelerate their learning on cyber security and safety whilst exploring the commercial opportunities of the connected vehicle area."

Visteon will be responsible for overall technical architecture of the project, including smartphone software and embedded VRSM software and hardware.

Phase One of the project will continue until the end of this year.

This phase will see preparation of infrastructure on routes along the M40, M42, A46, and A45 as well as on an urban route in Coventry in addition to installation of Vehicle, Systems and Gantry App to ensure variable roadside messages appear in-vehicle – either on the vehicle display or smartphone.

Pre-test trials will take place on HORIBA MIRA’s City Circuit.

The project is expected to take 30 months to complete.