CAVWAY, a new specialized proving ground for the development and testing of connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs), has begun construction, near Oxford, England. On completion, which is expected by the end of the year, it will be one of the most comprehensive facilities of its kind in the UK
Planning permission was recently granted for the facility and building works have now started with land movements and the set-up of new paths for granting building machinery access to the site
CAVWAY will sit partly on the site of the former Oakfield Airfield in Buckinghamshire, halfway between Oxford and Aylesbury. It is expected to occupy a total area of 77ha. and just over 105,000 square metres adding the total number of tracks, loops and intersections planned to be built. The old airfield’s hangar will be preserved to allocate workshops and offices.
What makes CAVWAY unique is that it will include a comprehensive set of highway junctions, all within a fully connected, controlled, repeatable and safe environment to perform all required development and validation testing programmes for ADAS and CAV development, according to the latest Euro NCAP and regulation requirements.
A wide variety of testing possibilities for development and validation projects will be possible thanks to fully configurable V2X, C-V2X, 4G / 5G network coverage. At the CAVWAY proving ground, it will be possible to control everything the vehicle “hears” and “sees” in a coordinated way to set up all kinds of tricky edge-case traffic scenarios, facilitating seamless integration between experimental and virtual development work. Additionally, CAVWAY will also offer vehicle simulation and cyber security testing in normal and abnormal conditions, as well as connectivity testing and benchmarking, among other services.
CAVWAY is part of a central UK government initiative by the Centre for Connected & Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV). Overall, the initiative provided £100M of government funding which was match funded by industry to create a network of testing sites across the UK to support the emerging industry for connected & autonomous technology.
CAVWAY is the result of a consortium between Prova Developments Ltd and IDIADA Automotive Technology (UK) Ltd. Applus IDIADA is a global partner to the automotive industry with over 30 years’ experience supporting its clients in product development activities by providing design, engineering, testing and homologation services.
IDIADA’s success in product development is built on a unique blend of highly experienced engineers, state-of-the-art test and development facilities and the constant drive towards innovation.
The company has more than 2,500 professionals and an international network of subsidiaries and branch offices in 22 countries, ensuring its clients receive customized added-value solutions.
