SELF-DRIVING SHUTTLE ‘HARLANDER’ ON COURSE TO START PILOT IN TITANIC QUARTER IN MARCH
Belfast Harbour has visited its automotive engineering partner HORIBA MIRA to observe testing of the Harlander, Northern Ireland’s first autonomous passenger vehicle, ahead of its delivery to Belfast in March.
Harlander is Northern Ireland’s first self-driving vehicle and will operate in Belfast Harbour Estate from Titanic Halt Railway station to Catalyst through Titanic Quarter.
The 9-seater vehicle, which will have a safety operator on board, will offer last mile connectivity from public transport networks to businesses, tourist attractions and education and leisure facilities.
It is an initial step on the pathway to fully driverless transport systems for the UK, the initial pilot will run from March to September, and will be free of charge.
Mike Dawson, People and Digital Transformation Director at Belfast Harbour, said: “We’re incredibly excited to have visited HORIBA MIRA’s Connected and Autonomous Vehicle testing facility near Coventry to see the Harlander in action and we’re looking forward to people getting the chance to experience the service for themselves in the coming months as we start the pilot on the Harbour Estate.”
Belfast Harbour is leading the development of the service alongside a consortium of partners that includes eVersum, Oxa, Angoka, BT and HORIBA MIRA and it is Northern Ireland’s inaugural step in autonomous vehicles on publicly accessible roads.
The initiative has received £11m joint government and industry funding, including £5.5m in funding from Innovate UK, which is working with the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles to invest £41.5m in innovation projects across the UK that demonstrate real world benefits of connected and autonomous vehicles.
Pictured at HORIBA MIRA’s Connected and Autonomous Vehicle testing facility with the Harlander are (left) Mike Dawson from Belfast Harbour and Chris Reeve from HORIBA MIRA.
