26 AFTERMARKET APRIL 2024 TECHNICAL/AFTERMARKET OF THE FUTURE www.aftermarketonline.net £100k incentives for Zenzic CAM Scale-Up UK 2024/25 Having already supported 22 UK self-driving start-ups and SMEs since 2020, Zenzic is incentivising entries for its latest CAM Scale-Up programme with the promise of up to £100k in funding for each successful applicant. Mark Cracknell, Programme Director at Zenzic, said: “To ensure we remain at the front of the global race to develop the autonomous and connected transport solutions of tomorrow, it is vital that we continue to support the bright minds and innovative SMEs who play a key role in developing and deploying such solutions, which is why we’d encourage any business from an automotive or tech background with an idea of how they could help drive the sector forward to get in touch.” Lisa Layzell, CEO of self-driving pothole filling robot provider Robotiz3d, is full of praise for the programme, saying: “Being part of CAM Scale-Up UK connected us to major players in the CAM industry and opened doors for us coming into 2024.” You know it’s going to be a good event when the venue is the Royal Automobile Club, Ayrton Senna’s McLaren-Honda F1 car is on display in the rotunda, and the first person you bump into is Tara Andringa, Executive Director of Partners for Automated Vehicle Education (PAVE), who has flown in from America especially to attend. We’ve interviewed Andringa a few times. First, back in 2021, when she explained PAVE’s mission to inform the US public about self-driving. We mused then about how the UK would benefit from a similar initiative, and three short years later it has come to pass. “Credit to the UK government for committing to AV,” she said. “We met representatives from CCAV in 2020 and it was clear immediately that they were supportive, already thinking about how to build trust in the technology.” In the US, PAVE has secured support from a dazzling array of partners – academics, manufacturers and charities. It has also demonstrated that the best way to gain trust is to put people in self-driving vehicles. Next up was Minister for the Future of Transport, Anthony Browne MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the DfT. He called for a 21st century version of the 1,000 Mile Trial, organised by the RAC in 1900 to convince vocal sceptics of the benefits of the motor car. Recounting his personal experiences of onroad self-driving trials, he set out the headline facts: human error a factor in 88% of road accidents, data from Waymo in the US suggesting self-driving could be x7 safer, £600m in UK government investment, and the potential £66bn boost to the UK economy by 2040. “Regulation to support the sector is coming to the Commons within weeks, establishing a safety threshold for AVs in law,” he said. “The future is closer than most people think.” There followed a high calibre panel featuring Prof Sarah Sharples, Chief Scientific Adviser at the DfT, Dr Elizabeth Box, Research Director at the RAC Foundation, Dr Karl Obermair, Chairman of PAVE Europe, David Wong, Head of Technology at the SMMT, and road safety campaigner, Meera Naran MBE. “There’s a big difference between what is being said and what is being understood – Level 2, Level 3 – it means nothing to me,” said Naran. “My background is health, and we put the patient at the centre everything. In this industry, the road user should be in that position.” Minister for Future of Transport at PAVE UK launch Neil Kennett looks at cutting-edge auto tech coming to a workshop near you soon AFTERMARKET OF THE FUTURE A commentator on the UK aftermarket since before Concorde was grounded, Neil is Editor of Carsofthefuture.co.uk, providing news and views about driverless vehicles, and Director of Communications at Selfdrivingpr.com, experts in automotive/autonomous media and public relations
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