Transport operator Stagecoach, bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis Limited (ADL), and technology company Fusion Processing will all work together to produce a single deck autonomous bus.

Work on the ADL Enviro200 vehicle is being conducted at ADL’s site in Guildford, England, and the bus is expected to be ready for use by the end of this year.

Once complete, the vehicle will be completely autonomous, capable of operating without a driver in an off-road environment. Additionally, the technology also delivers road safety benefits when driven in manual mode.

“Stagecoach has long been at the heart of innovation within the bus industry and this is an exciting trial that will deliver the UK’s first fully autonomous single deck bus,” says Stagecoach UK Bus Engineering Director Sam Greer.

“We look forward to working with our partners on this project which we believe could, in time, help improve safety and efficiency within our depots, and over the longer term, help transform bus travel in the future.”

The Stagecoach bus will be equipped with the CAVstar system provided by Fusion Processing Ltd. CAVstar was successfully used in the United Kingdom's largest public trial of autonomous vehicles to date, which took place earlier this year in Greenwich.

The system uses a number of sensor types, including radar, laser, camera and ultrasound, along with satellite navigation to detect and avoid objects, in all weathers, day and night, and plan an optimum path for the vehicle.

“We’re delighted Stagecoach and Alexander Dennis have selected our CAVstar product, the sensor and control system that enables autonomous vehicles,” comments Jim Hutchinson, CEO of Fusion Processing Ltd. “CAVstar will offer increased safety and efficiency, and will be demonstrated in the Stagecoach trials later this year.”

In the short term, the bus will be used in autonomous mode only within the depot environment, Stagecoach says. The bus will carry out movements such as parking and moving into the fueling station and bus wash. Using this type of technology within depots more widely could help improve safety, efficiency and space utilization within the depot, Stagecoach notes.

Due to legal restrictions, the autonomous bus will not be used in autonomous mode in passenger service for some time, but the system can be used straight away to help improve the safety of road users.

An example that Stagecoach gives is when “the bus is driven in manual mode, the sensor system on the bus, whilst not engaged to drive the vehicle, can still be used to provide assistance to the driver by warning of cyclists or pedestrians that may be in the blind spot or arrive unexpectedly close to the vehicle.”

Stagecoach says that over time, autonomous bus technology “is expected to be used more widely, including on services carrying passengers, dependent on legal developments.”