The dream of self-driving vehicles has been a long time coming. It is however now within reach and the pressure is on to the deliver on the vision. With sustained technology development, increased investment and raising public awareness, there is enormous interest in the imminent mainstream use of autonomous vehicles on the streets.

Although approaches vary from around the world, policy makers and urban planners in leading locations are now seeking to collaborate more with manufacturers, mobility providers, tech suppliers, logistics operators in order to align regulation for testing and mass deployment. And it goes both ways.

The investments being made in autonomy have rapidly shifted from millions to billions, so unsurprisingly those public and private organisations that are providing the funds are keen to ensure that the ROI is credible. There is much to play for and, although there has been substantial progress over recent years, significant questions on safety, social impact, business models and performance are still unanswered.

The Future of Autonomous Vehicles project was undertaken to canvas the views of a wide range of experts from around the world in order to create a clearer, informed global perspective of how autonomy will evolve over the next decade. Beginning with a discussion with government officials just outside Shanghai in July 2018 and ending with leaders from across the US autonomous vehicle community in the hills above Silicon Valley in February of 2020, this project has covered a lot of ground. In all, eight workshops and six additional discussions have engaged with hundreds of different opinions, shared perspectives and built considered future pathways.

This report is a synthesis of many voices and opinions on the likely future of autonomous vehicles. We hope that it is useful.

Full project details are available on the dedicated mini site www.futureautonomous.org as well as on the focused foresight on this website